Through the Years, Season 6: The Unova League
by Evanibble
Summary: After leaving Pallet town and starting life anew, 21-year old Niko finds himself living an "ordinary" life in Castelia City. With his friends Warren and Charlotte, an initially hesitant Niko gets caught up in a journey through the region. This is a story of his adventures with his friends and the new pokémon he meets along the way. Enjoy!
1. The runaway pokémon

**Episode 1: The runaway pokémon**

"Hey, Niko, can you get this washed for me ASAP?"

Niko took the bowl and nodded coolly from the chef—his boss. Standing there, running the high-pressure water along the bowl, which created a pleasant metallic sound, he continued listening to music, calmly trying to get through the day.

"Done." He said after passing the bowl and a variety of other dishes through the dishwashing machine and bringing the tray over to the chef and a small group of servers. Placing the tray down on a bar table, he spun around on his feet and walked back to his station—where he washed dishes for a living.

Since leaving Pallet Town, Niko moved to an unfamiliar part of the world, but one he had briefly heard speak of on a few occasions—Unova. Landing in Castelia City, the largest city in the region, Niko immediately searched for work and a place to live. It didn't take long—since he was willing to do most types of work at that point. This willingness placed him in a full time dishwashing position at a high-class restaurant in Castelia City.

Besides working, Niko didn't do much. In the first couple of weeks, he spent time walking around the city, exploring the many different places of interest offered to residents and tourists. After that bored him, he simply spent most of his time at the apartment he was living in, either reading or trying to teach himself to cook. The latter was far more difficult, since usually he wasn't the one to cook on his adventures.

His adventures…

Niko tried to keep his past a secret, not only to the people he met in Castelia City, but also to himself. He didn't want to explain his reasons for leaving his friends, pokémon, and only home he's ever known. He preferred not to explain that his father had passed away; that he didn't even attend the funeral; and he didn't want to look back on his only real relationship.

He didn't want to reflect on the past. It was too much for him to think about, which is why he took up reading and cooking more often. It took his mind off things. He also resorted to listening to music more often, and usually songs without lyrics. He bought a television and found interest in shows and movies that he had no idea even existed. Niko felt like an entirely new person after leaving Pallet Town.

Before Niko realized it, the day was over, and he was cleaning the floors before ending his shift. After clocking out, he left the restaurant through the backdoor, entering the alleyway that he usually took to and from his job. Music still in his head, he threw his hands into his slightly damp pockets and walked out into the world.

Downtown Castelia City was—on the weekends, at least—the place to be for all young people. Bars and clubs were filled with people at varying levels of inebriation, all losing themselves in the moment. Niko wasn't the kind of person to go dancing—or exert himself in any way. He did, however, find himself drinking more than he ever thought before, which always seemed to lead to a series of unfortunate events, usually relating to nausea. To be sure, he wasn't an alcoholic, but he had never had a drink before, and his body wasn't necessarily used to it.

He walked down the well-lit streets of Castelia City, weaving in and out of large groups of people waiting for something or someone—whether it was a cab or entrance into a club. None of these clubs were his destination, however: he was off to a bar called Liberty. It was the gathering spot for him and the friends he made since moving to Unova.

Niko walked in and pulled out his headphones, looking around for the couple he was set to meet. After not finding them, he sighed. "Of course, they're late. Typical Warren."

He then felt something lightly crash against his side. Looking down to his left, he saw a small woman with short brown hair quickly move past him. "Sorry. Didn't mean to hit ya." She said quietly before continuing towards a table. Niko watched her walk away, confused.

"Don't worry about it." He said, but probably not loud enough for the woman to hear him. Shrugging, he stood near the entrance to wait for his friends. As he mumbled to himself, he felt someone grip his shoulder. Turning around was his roommate and friend, Warren.

"Hey, Niko!" He said, patting his friend on the back.

"Niko!"

"Hey, Sydney." Niko said, reaching over to embrace Sydney, who also happened to be Warren's girlfriend. "I just got here—let's go find a place to sit." Finding a table wasn't terribly difficult, and neither was getting drinks (or an actual meal, in Niko's case).

"So…how was work?" Warren asked, just as he did every day. Warren was only slightly shorter than Niko, but was slightly bigger and not as lanky. He had short brown hair and was clean-shaven, much unlike Niko's long, unkempt mess of hair and his oddly-shaped beard-in-the-making. He was a tutor at Castelia University part time, and a full time administrative assistant at the school, just like Sydney, whom Warren met during his time at the school.

Niko shrugged. "The usual. We didn't have too many people today, which was a nice change of pace."

"Yeah, Warren told me your work last week was intense." Sydney said with a worried look. She was black-haired and above-average height, only a couple inches shorter than Warren. Like her boyfriend, she worked at the university, and is a native of Castelia City.

"It was _insane_!" Niko said, raising his hands as part of his expression. "And to make things better," He continued sarcastically, "I was the only dishwasher!"

"Well, now you can relax a little bud." Warren said, clinking his glass with Sydney's and Niko's.

"Indeed. How was your day?" Niko asked, looking at the couple.

"Alright. Nothing too special." Sydney said. "A growlithe came into our office today, which was a nice break. I haven't seen one of those in a long time."

"Oh, really? Growlithe's are awesome." Niko said, suddenly finding himself thinking of JJ's growlithe. He looked down at his meal with a slightly concerned expression.

"What's up, Niko?" Warren asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing. I was just reminded of a growlithe that I used to know."

"Family pet?" Sydney asked.

"Nope. It was a friend's back home." Niko answered honestly. Even though Warren and Sydney were his best friends in Castelia City, he hardly ever discussed his past with them. As far as they were concerned, he was just from Kanto and decided to live abroad to figure himself out, all of which is true in some way or another.

"Oh, nice. You know, Niko, you never really talk about what you were doing before coming here." Sydney said. "You said you're from Kanto, right?"

"Yep." Niko said quickly, returning to his food.

"Where in Kanto?" Warren asked.

"Pallet Town." Niko said just as quickly as before, almost mumbling it. Fortunately for his friends, they understood what he meant.

"Oh! You've never told us that!" Sydney remarked, looking excited at the prospect of learning more about her friend. Usually Niko was the one asking them questions, not the other way around. "How long have you lived there before coming here?"

"Most of my life. I'm actually from Vermilion City, if you've ever heard of that place."

"Yeah, only a few times, though. Kanto's kinda far away." Warren said. "I've never been, but I'd like to go there sometime. Maybe we can visit your home!"

"Maybe…" Niko said quietly, continuing to eat his food. Warren and Sydney got the hint, and didn't continue to ask questions, instead making more general conversation.

After a couple hours at Liberty, the trio walked out of the bar and walked towards Sydney's apartment to drop her off before Niko and Warren went back to their place. Fortunately, Sydney was on the way, which was always convenient for Niko, as he didn't have to go out of his way too often.

A half of an hour later, Niko and Warren made it to their apartment on the third floor of the building. Upon opening the door, a small blue tadpole creature ran up to them.

"Hey poliwag!" Warren said, crouching down to pick up poliwag. It was Warren's first—and only—pokémon, and it was more akin to a household pet than the type of pokémon that Niko was used to—that is, a training and battling partner. Nevertheless, Niko enjoyed having poliwag around. Occasionally the tadpole pokémon would help Niko with cooking, and he would sometimes read to the water type. Since moving in with Warren nearly four months previously, Niko forged a quick and close bond with his roommate's pokémon. "Alright, time for bed, though!"

Poliwag nodded, wishing instead to play games with the two roommates, or watch a show on TV. But it was quickly apparent how tired they both were, and the tadpole pokémon obliged, walking over to Warren's room and laying down on the bed his trainer made for him.

Niko walked into his room—an undecorated, simple arrangement that seemed to satisfy him more than it would for most people. As he lay down in bed, he found himself thinking back to Pallet Town. He tried to not let it be known, but it always irked him a little when others asked about where he was from. He fell asleep with the images and memories of his former groups of friends swirling through his mind.

The next day, Niko was up early, making breakfast with poliwag when Warren dragged himself out of bed and into their small kitchen. Peering over to see his roommate, bedraggled and slightly exhausted, he silently laughed to himself.

"We're running out of food. Want me to head out today to get it?" Niko asked as Warren walked up to the fridge and pulled out a smoothie he had made the previous morning.

"Yeah, I've got some tutoring stuff to prepare for anyways." He lazily walked over to their couch and put something on the TV that seemed to catch Niko's attention.

It was a pokémon tournament of some kind. Niko watched as a pair of trainers were battling each other, each with unfamiliar pokémon. Niko continued to watch with interest, nearly burning his breakfast.

"Thanks, poliwag." Niko said as the tadpole pokémon looked up at his friend and smiled eagerly, proud that he saved the food from blackening. Niko patted the tadpole on the head, finished his breakfast, and walked over to the couch to watch the battling.

"You ever been in a pokémon battle, Niko?" Warren asked without turning to his friend.

"Err…not really. I mean, in school I did, but that was the extent of it." Niko lied. "But I was never really good at it. You?"

"Well, poliwag and I ended up in matches on a few occasions, but we never did well. Poliwag isn't much of a battler, and I've never really battled with any other pokémon." Warren shrugged. "Just not cut out for it, you know?"

"Yeah, I definitely understand." Niko said, silently eating his food. After a while, he got dressed into normal clothes and left their apartment to get food.

Even though the location of their apartment building was convenient in relation to Sydney and the bars they regularly attended, the supermarket was further away. Niko generally took the opportunity to listen to music or the occasional podcast as he walked through the city, casually observing the people and environment around him. It gave him peace of mind, like his job but with less random interference from coworkers or others.

However, he decided to take a different path to the supermarket this time, walking through a wide alleyway. As he did so, he heard something move around in a dumpster that he passed by.

Niko pulled out one of his earbuds and looked at the dumpster, which stood silent for a moment before rustling again. He crept back towards the dumpster and, as he leaned over, a small green creature popped out of the trash.

"Ah! What the hell!?" Niko shouted, backing up a little as the creature revealed itself a little more. It was reptilian with two small legs and arms. It had large red eyes with black pupils. Its body was green with a cream underside and a yellow stripe running down its back. Two small yellow leaves protruded from its shoulder. Lastly, it had a large, palmate leaf with three prongs on the end of its tail.

The pokémon jumped out of the dumpster and slowly walked towards Niko, who eyed it cautiously.

"Listen, sorry if I scared you. But I've got to get going, alright?" Niko said before placing his earbud back in and continued walking down the alley. Just as he was about to exit the alley, he turned back around to see if the pokémon was still there. It was, and Niko saw it grip its stomach briefly. Sighing, Niko shook his head. "Are you hungry…?"

The pokémon nodded, tilting its head in confusion.

"Alright, come with me, then. I'm off to get food anyways." Niko said, and continued walking, with the pokémon following closely behind. When they reached the supermarket, Niko bought the food he wanted, and got a snack for his unlikely companion.

Niko poured through the different aisles, looking for a variety of different foods, either ones necessary for cooking or snacks. The pokémon followed closely behind, looking up at the shelves with wonder at all of the food. After nearly half an hour, Niko had found just about everything, except for one thing—teabags. For whatever reason, he couldn't find teabags. He scratched his nascent beard in confusion, the pokémon looking up at him equally bemused.

"That's a cool looking pokémon you've got there." Someone to his left said. Niko turned to see a small brunette woman eying his new companion. "I've seen it before, but I'm not sure where."

"Oh. Yeah, it's cool. I just met him, actually. It isn't mine."

"Oh?" She had a calming tone to her voice. It wasn't melodic, but it was kind. "Well then…what's it doing with you?" She looked up at Niko with wonder.

"It's hungry. I figured I could get it something while I'm out." Niko said, shrugging. "I found it in a dumpster, so it's not like it's well-fed."

"Looks like a grass type." She added. "Tea is a good choice for any pokémon, but I think grass types prefer it."

"I didn't know that…" Niko commented, turning to the pokémon. "Do you like tea?" The pokémon simply shrugged. "Well, might as well try. But I need to get it a snack as well."

"Well, I'd recommend some sort of vegetable. I haven't met this kind of pokémon before, so I couldn't be more specific." She said. This little woman seemed oddly perceptive of different kinds of pokémon. It made Niko wonder what she actually did for a living. "Anyways, I won't keep you anymore. Good luck!"

"I appreciate the advice." Niko said, holding out his hand. "Niko, by the way."

"Charlotte. And no problem. Happy to help." She said with a smile before turning and walking away. As she proceeded down the aisle, Niko suddenly seemed to recognize her. _The girl that ran into me at the bar…?_ He thought.

As they were exiting the supermarket, Niko looked down at the pokémon, who looked quite happy with its snack—which was a carrot. "Okay, that's it. I'm headed home now. I hope you find your way home, too."

The pokémon looked down with a brief look of despair, and it dawn on Niko that the creature might not have a home.

"Fine, how about this. You can come back with me to my apartment for today, but after you have to leave, alright?"

The pokémon looked up at Niko and nodded, suddenly looking grateful. It proceeded to follow Niko until the young man made it back to his apartment. Upon opening the door and entering, the pokémon leaned out from behind Niko's ankles to look inside, meeting poliwag directly in the eye.

"Hey, Niko!" Warren said, looking up from their table and noticing Niko's new companion. "Oh…? Who's this?"

"No idea. Found it in a dumpster and fed it. Now I guess it doesn't have a home. Is it alright if it stays with us tonight?"

"Yeah, no worries." Warren then got back to work while Niko made lunch. After an hour had passed, and the unfamiliar pokémon made itself at home on the couch, Warren spoke up again. "Niko, this pokémon is called snivy."

"Snivy?" Niko asked. His roommate nodded. "And…?"

"Erm…it's a grass type, and traditionally given out to beginning trainers from Professor Juniper in Nuvema Town."

"Nuvema Town? Where's that?"

"Somewhere off in the southeast. Never been, but I had some childhood friends who went there to start their pokémon journeys. Apparently, it's a tiny little town, and only really known for giving out these starter pokémon."

"Ah. Well, maybe that's where snivy's home is. Does that ring a bell to you?" Niko asked, shooting in the dark. However, unexpectedly, snivy nodded. "Oh. Is that actually your home?" Snivy nodded.

"Well then…" Warren said, clapping his hands together. "Niko, don't you have a bunch of vacation days saved up."

"Yeah…why?" Niko asked suspiciously.

"So do I. I think we should go take snivy back to Nuvema Town!" Warren suggested. "Day after tomorrow, we can head off!"

"Now, wait a minute, Warren. How long would this journey take?"

"I don't know, but I'm looking at a map of Unova right now, and there's a few cities along the way. We can pass through those if we're low on supplies. And if anything attacks us, we have poliwag and snivy."

Niko sat there in silence. He hadn't thought about getting back into travelling. If he was being honest with himself, then he was afraid of making that commitment again. What if it turned into some larger journey, and history repeated himself? He didn't want to be a trainer again, but Warren or snivy didn't know that.

But, Niko still had the choice to take snivy back to Nuvema Town, walk back with Warren and poliwag, and continue his life in Castelia City. He could resist the urge to adventure once more. And that's exactly what he planned to do.

"Alright Warren, fine. Tomorrow I'll tell my boss I'm taking a week off. You do the same, and we'll take snivy back to Nuvema Town." He then turned to the grass type. "Does that sound good to you?"

Snivy nodded, once again looking pleased with the circumstances of his initial meeting with Niko, who sighed at the prospect of going on another trip.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Season 6 is up! Now Niko is in Unova, living an ordinary life, and hesitant to even leave Castelia City on a brief journey. I hope you enjoy this episode, and the ones that follow!**


	2. Journey to Nuvema Town (Part 1)

**Episode 2: Journey to Nuvema Town (Part 1)**

"Alright, ready to go?" Warren asked Niko as he slung a bag around his shoulder. It was an unusually large bag, at least from Niko's perspective, and it amazed him that Warren was able to carry it all.

"Yeah, I guess so." Niko said, motioning to his bag, which was a little smaller than Warren's, and roughly the size of the travelling bag he took with him in previous years. He turned to poliwag, who was through the roof in excitement at getting the opportunity to travel. Snivy, on the other hand, seemed excited, but hardly expressed it. It seemed more stoic than anything, with the occasional smile at the thought of returning home.

"Well, let's get going then! Sydney wants to see us off, though." Warren opened the door and led the way out, with poliwag at his side and Niko and snivy behind. "That's fine with you, right?"

"Of course it is. I have no issue with Sydney at all. Plus, it kinda makes sense, right? She's your girlfriend." Niko replied as they took the elevator down to the ground floor. "Also…you got days off of work, right?"

"Mhmm! You?"

Niko nodded as well. It felt weird not going to work at this point. After working five or six days a week, it was certainly a different feeling—not having to work. Granted, this was Niko's first real job, and so it was bound to feel weird regardless.

It didn't take long for them to meet up with Sydney, who was waiting outside their apartment, ready to walk them off to the eastern edge of Castelia City. Along the way, they talked more about the logistics of their journey. Niko—who had little experience in estimating travel times, since that used to be JJ's job—figured that it would take a day or so to get to Nacrene City. The only major obstacle in front of them was the Pinwheel Forest, which Sydney warned them to take caution in.

After, they would head to Striaton City, which would take about a day or two from Nacrene City. From there they would move south to Accumula Town, and then finally Nuvema Town. All in all, the trip to Nuvema would take about four or five days. Fortunately for them, there were ships that ferry people from the small Nuvema Town to Castelia City once a week.

"So, what kind of pokémon do you think you'll see out there?" Sydney asked.

"I have no idea. I'm not really familiar with the kinds of pokémon found around here." Niko shrugged. "I just don't want to get into any kind of conflict, though."

"But you have snivy."

"Well, yes." Niko looked down at the grass type. "However, I don't know how strong snivy actually is. Until I know that, I'd rather not fight."

"Hey, Niko…" Sydney asked as they began to approach Skyarrow Bridge, which connected Castelia City to Pinwheel Forest. "Have you ever wanted to be a pokémon trainer?"

"…no." Niko said hesitantly. He didn't like lying to people, but in this case he preferred it to telling the truth. Especially when it was a truth that even he didn't want to engage with. "Not really."

Sydney and Warren both looked at one another as they stopped at the end of the city limits. "Well, I'm sure you'd make a great trainer if you did."

"What are you basing that on?" Niko asked in a defensive tone. "I've never really battled before. Why would I be a great trainer?"

"Because…you're helping out this pokémon." Sydney said, pointing to snivy.

"Well, that was Warren's idea." Niko argued.

"But you agreed." Sydney said with a wink. "Anyways, you two need to get going." She pecked Warren on the cheek before leaning over and hugging Niko, and later poliwag. "Please be safe, you two. Don't get into any trouble, alright?"

"Can't promise that." Warren said with a wink of his own. When it was clear Sydney didn't appreciate this, he quickly apologized with a smile and looked to poliwag. "Ready?" The tadpole nodded, and they were off.

"Bye guys!" Sydney said with a wave. Warren and Niko returned the wave before beginning their trek onto Skyarrow Bridge, and into the land of Unova.

The bridge was massive, to say the least. It took over an hour for the small group to make it all the way across, and by that point Warren was already exhausted. The two took a rest break at the edge of Pinwheel Forest, where they all sat down for several minutes before getting back up and continuing on.

For Niko, the Pinwheel Forest was nothing new. He'd been through denser forests—like the Ilex Forest in Johto and the Eterna Forest in Sinnoh. Therefore, he wasn't too daunted by the prospect of adventuring through it, despite his phobia for bug types. Warren, interestingly enough, was simply excited about walking through. If there was one thing Niko knew about Warren, it was that he loved forests and trees, for whatever reason. Niko enjoyed watching him and poliwag getting excited at the tall, thick trees surrounding them, and generally let them lead the way while he and snivy fell back and watched them.

"They're pretty close, you know." Niko said to snivy as they walked side by side. "If you didn't already catch that. It's odd, you wouldn't expect a water type like poliwag to enjoy forests as much." He laughed. "I guess poliwag wished he was a grass type, instead of a water type."

Snivy laughed as well, in a lighter tone than Niko had expected, which led him to believe that his companion was female.

"Oh, you're a girl snivy?" Niko asked with surprise. Snivy looked up and nodded. "Noted."

They continued on for another couple of hours until Warren and poliwag needed another break, which worked out nicely, considering Niko himself was hungry. The four of them sat down on the top of a hollow log and ate lunch, watching the world move around them.

"This is incredible, Niko." Warren said in amazement. "Have you ever walked through a forest like this?"

"Nope." Niko quickly replied.

"So you really haven't seen much of the world, have you?" Warren asked. Niko shook his head. "Wow. I mean, neither have I. But from the sounds of it, I've probably seen more than you. N-not that I'm bragging or anything."

Niko smiled. "I got what you meant. Don't worry." He looked up at the trees above. "It would be nice, though. To see more of the world. And other pokémon." He shook his head again. "But I don't think that's in the cards for me, at least beyond this."

"Why not?"

"Well, I have to work now. And figure out what I want to do with my life. I can't afford to travel unless I completely uproot everything here, which I prefer not to do, you know? I mean…would _you_ do that?"

"If Sydney was alright with me going off, then yeah. Oh, and if I had someone to sublet the apartment. That's kind of important."

Niko nodded. Just then, he heard a rustling to his right. Spinning his head, he saw something scuttling on the ground with a gray bird following closely behind it. The scuttling creature ran into the log they were sitting on, which forced Niko to jump off of the log.

"What's up?" Warren asked, completely unaware.

"There's…a bug…in there…" Niko said.

"And…?" Warren asked with confusion.

"I-I don't like bugs. Also, that bird was chasing it, I think." Niko said, pointing to the angry bird.

"Oh! That's a tranquill!" Warren said, also pointing at the bird. "Guess it got hungry…"

"But it was about to eat another pokémon!" Niko protested. It was weird—he didn't like bugs, but he also didn't want to see them as prey.

"Yeah. Let's see if it's okay." Warren said, approaching one of the ends of the logs and peeking inside. "Hello? Oh…hey there little guy. Come over here, you'll be safe." Just then the bird shot across the log and pecked Warren's shoulder, knocking him over. "Woah! What's the big idea?" He shouted, picking up the tiny bug from the log and turning to poliwag.

The bird—which was primarily gray with light gray and black markings. It had yellow eyes and a yellow beak. Otherwise, it looked like any ordinary bird. It also looked angry, and dove towards Warren, poliwag, and the bug.

"Poliwag, use water gun!" Warren commanded, backing away with the bug in his arms. The tadpole pokémon jumped forward and excitedly shot a jet of water from the center of his body, hitting the bird square in the face and forcing it off course, causing it to crash into the ground. "Now, hypnosis!"

Black and white rings emitted from poliwag's body and collided with the tranquill, instantly putting it to sleep. Warren turned to Niko with a mix of excitement and concern.

"Let's get going, away from this bird." Niko nodded, and quickly packed up their stuff before running off with Warren, poliwag, and snivy. They continued moving for some time before Warren began panting again from exhaustion. "Alright…let's…stop…" He said, sitting down on the ground at the base of a tree. He put the bug down on the ground. "You're alright, yeah?"

The bug nodded eagerly, scuttling up close to Warren and poliwag. Then, it ran off towards a bush. "Guess it's off now…" Niko said as he watched the bug move. Even though he didn't particularly enjoy bugs, he did find the little thing adorable. It was a tiny caterpillar-like pokémon with a broad, bitten leaf enfolding its head like a hood. Its head was orange-yellow with beady black eyes and a crescent-shaped orange snout with two tiny, sharp teeth protruding from it.

Moments later, the bug returned with a berry in two tiny stub that were presumably its front legs. It held the berry up to Warren. "It wants to thank you, Warren." Niko said with a laugh.

"Guess so." Warren said, picking up the berry. "Thank you…err…"

"Waddle!" The bug said. "See! See!"

"That's right! You're a sewaddle!" Warren said. "Well, my name is Warren, and this is my poliwag that helped you out." He said, motioning to the tadpole pokémon. Sewaddle walked over and attempted to hug poliwag, who seemed happy to return the gesture—despite having no arms. "And that's Niko and his snivy over there."

Sewaddle turned to Niko and smiled cheerfully. "It's not my snivy, though." Niko said, correcting his roommate.

"Right, sorry. Anyways, sewaddle, we're on a journey to take snivy back to her home. Would you like to join us?" Sewaddle nodded happily, leaping up and into Warren's arms. "Alright then! Niko, we've got a new friend!"

Niko nodded, happy that Warren found another friend. "But you should probably catch it."

"I…I don't have any pokéballs, though." Warren said. "But we can get some in Nacrene City, right?" Niko nodded, and the group continued on towards their next destination.

They reached Nacrene City late into the evening, stopping by the Pokémon Center to rest for the night. It was a familiar sight for Niko, one that kept him up later than he had preferred to be. He turned to watch snivy laying on the ground, and then Warren, poliwag, and sewaddle in the bed next to him.

 _Warren's got a knack for making friends, it seems._ Niko thought. _He'd make a good trainer, I think_.

The next morning, Niko got up early and walked out into the lobby to have something to eat. For a moment, he expected to see JJ or Brittany walk out and join him in their booth. When they didn't come, and the realization hit Niko, he lightly banged his fist on the table, looking around to see if anyone else noticed his anguish. Fortunately, none that he could see.

Until he looked down and saw snivy standing there looking up at him. "Oh, hey snivy. Sleep well?" Niko asked in a cordial tone. She nodded, and leapt up onto the opposite end of the booth, sitting on the table since she was so short. While Niko sat there, eating breakfast, she continued to eye him without speech, which unsettled Niko.

"You want something?" Niko asked, looking up at the Grass Snake pokémon. Snivy shook her head in response. "Well, are you hungry?" Snivy shook her head again. "Then maybe don't stare at me. It's a little weird."

Niko knew this was harsher than it came out, but snivy didn't seem to care. Instead, she sat there on the table, looking around at the Pokémon Center.

"You've never been in one of these, have you?" Snivy shook her head. "Well, this is where trainers go to heal their pokémon if they're hurt. It's also a place that trainers can stay if they're on a journey. I've been to sever—I mean, I've heard of people doing that. It's kind of like a motel, if you've ever heard of those. Oh, and they've got a practice battlefield for trainers and pokémon to practice battling. Those are very useful…not that I'd know."

Niko cautiously looked up to snivy to see if she caught his verbal slips. Snivy blinked a few times, presumably indicating that she didn't catch them.

Minutes later, Warren and his pokémon walked out into the lobby, sitting down across Niko in their booth. "Morning!"

"Morning," Niko said. "Sleep well?"

"Yep! Looks like sewaddle and poliwag did as well. So, you want to check out the city a big before we head off?"

Niko shrugged. "Sure, I guess. We got to Nacrene City quicker than expected, so I don't mind walking around a bit. Plus, you need to go buy a pokéball for that sewaddle."

After breakfast the small group got dressed into travelling clothes and walked out into the city. Nacrene City was an odd-looking place from Niko's perspective. Each building—with a few exceptions—were all made of warehouses. As they walked through the city, Niko noticed how creative the residents got when it came to creating their homes out of these warehouses. There were even small duplex apartment made out of warehouses.

Once they made it to the pokémart, Warren immediately went to buy a pokéball, while Niko walked around, snivy at his ankles. He ended up getting some carrot juice for snivy, and a lemonade for himself, ultimately meeting back up with Warren and his pokémon at the end.

"Alright, sewaddle!" Warren said, placing the Sewing pokémon on the ground. "I'm now your trainer, I guess." He kneeled down and placed the pokéball on sewaddle's forehead. The Sewing pokémon turned a bright red color and went into the pokéball, which began wiggling around in Warren's hand until it eventually clicked, indicating that the capture was successful. He stood up and looked at Niko. "Well, I caught a sewaddle!"

"Nice job, Warren." Niko said. "Hey, I heard this place has a museum. Want to go check it out?"

"Sure!" Warren said happily. "Let's go, poliwag!"

"Poli!" Poliwag said cheerfully.

The Nacrene Museum was nothing short of astounding to Niko. He and Warren had to pay a small fee to enter, but Niko felt it was well worth it. He walked around with snivy, eying the different fossils and other artifacts unique to Unova. Easily the most prominent display was a skeleton of a Dragon-type pokémon in the center of the main room. Niko also recognized an armaldo skeleton, which reminded him of Melinda, his first love interest back in Hoenn. _I wonder how she's doing these days…_ Niko thought. It then occurred to him that his adventures in Hoenn were only a year and a half ago, which forced him to pause and stare at the skeleton for longer than he intended to.

"Right, sorry. Let's keep going, snivy." Niko said, and the Grass Snake followed. "Is there anything here that you find interesting?"

Snivy looked around, trying to jump up to see the exhibits. Niko eventually picked her up and show her the artifacts and other miscellaneous items that the pokémon wouldn't have ordinarily been able to see. Niko also noticed a shiny stone sitting in a display case, which reminded him of JJ and Lauren's dual evolution back in the Resort Area. Wincing a little, he quickened his pace to look at something else.

"So…what did you think of it, Niko?" Warren asked, with sewaddle in his arms and poliwag at his side.

"It was cool to see. Couple odd exhibits, but otherwise I enjoyed it. What about you?"

"I enjoyed it, and it seemed like the pokémon did too. Snivy, did you like it?" The Grass Snake nodded, looking happy for the first time in a while. Warren smiled. "Well, maybe we should get going, then. Do you think we have enough supplies to get to Striaton City?"

"Maybe, but we should grab some stuff just in case. It's a couple days, right?" Warren nodded. "Okay, let's go grab some supplies then, and leave around midday. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me!" Warren added. Sewaddle and poliwag cheered as well, both ready to continue their journey with their trainer. Snivy, even though she wasn't Niko's, felt the same as well.


	3. Journey to Nuvema Town (Part 2)

**Episode 3: Journey to Nuvema Town (Part 2)**

Niko, Warren, and their three pokémon left Nacrene City the afternoon after reaching the city, and shortly after visiting the local museum. After grabbing some supplies, they were off towards their next destination, Striaton City, which they estimated would take a couple of days to traverse at most.

Route 3—the connecting path between the cities, was not necessarily an open valley, like Niko noticed in Sinnoh, but it was nevertheless more open and less forested than most paths. The grass was taller, however, and ponds littered the paths around them. At one point, Niko nearly stepped on a small pokémon. He didn't recognize it, and broke into a run with snivy once they realized the unfamiliar pokémon wasn't too happy with him.

Warren provided occasional good conversation along the way, which Niko found oddly impressive. He never knew Warren to be the kind of person to work a room, but his roommate was nevertheless a conversationalist in his own way. Niko—who since leaving Pallet Town had taken the reserved nature that characterized his childhood—was not used to as much talking, and often found himself having to drink something so his throat didn't dry up.

That evening, the group found a small area next to a pond to rest for the night. Warren in particular was excited, as he hadn't yet travelled through the night. Niko felt at ease, due to his rather lengthy experience in this area. However, it unsettled him how they had no major source of fire. That was something Niko had constantly relied on in his past journeys, and seemed to take it for granted.

"This is great, Niko." Warren said as he looked up at the sky, the millions of stars shining throughout space above. "I mean it, too. I always wanted to go on adventures, but I just never got the chance. My parents would never let me. They were worried that something might happen to me."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Niko said curtly.

"You do? Is that why you've never gone out and travelled?" Warren asked, looking over at Niko, the small lantern illuminating parts of his face.

"Yeah, basically. I also just didn't want to. I…never heard good things about travelling."

"Like what?"

"Like…it's dangerous, for starters. And what's the point of it? What does one gain from seeing the world anyways? Sure, it's beautiful, and it's nice to look at, but what do I get from walking around aimlessly?"

"Well, you don't have to 'walk around aimlessly!' A lot of people participate in gym challenges, or contests. Have you heard of those before?"

"Yep." Niko said. "Definitely heard of them. Unova has them, right?"

"We do. I watch the Vertress Conference every year. That's where the Pokémon League is usually held—Vertress City up in the north, somewhere past Humilau City. It's a lot of fun to watch. Have you ever seen a Pokémon League?"

"Yeah, I once went to the Indigo League. To watch, though, not to battle."

"I know. How was it? That sounds really exciting!"

"It was alright. My friend was participating. He made it to the quarterfinals." Niko said, thinking of Fay this time.

"That's really good! How many usually participate, like a hundred?"

"Something like that, yeah. And he did alright. He later went to Mt. Silver and participated in Johto's conference, and didn't do any better."

"I can imagine it's hard to improve if you keep doing those. Especially when you get to quarterfinals. The trainers just keep getting more difficult to beat."

"You have no idea…" Niko said, wincing slightly as he stared down at the lantern, and then at the sleeping snivy, who was curled up in a ball.

"Say, Niko, what is it that you want to do? You've talked a lot about finding work after being a dishwasher, but what do you actually want to do?"

Niko sat there for a moment in silence. If he was being honest with himself, part of him still wanted to travel the world and be a better trainer. But that wasn't who he was anymore—he wasn't a trainer, and he couldn't envision any scenarios where he would become one again. After a while, he answered. "I don't know yet. I haven't given it much thought, actually. But I definitely don't want to be washing dishes for the rest of my life."

"I getcha." Warren said with a laugh.

"What do you want to be?" Niko asked.

"I'd ideally like to be a writer, and maybe teach literature on the side. Castelia University has a program that will ease me into teaching at the college level, and so I might apply to that next year." Warren said, gazing down at sewaddle and poliwag. The former was curled up in a ball like snivy, and poliwag was resting against Warren's bag.

"That'd be cool. I actually think that maybe you should go travel for a bit. You could take Sydney, too." Niko suggested.

"Yeah, I've thought about maybe taking some time off of work to do that. The problem is Sydney might not be able to do the same." Warren turned to Niko. "Maybe we could go on a journey, you know?" Niko shook his head. "Why not? It'd be fun!"

"I'm not really interested…" Niko said. "I mean, in the idea of leaving and all. I'd prefer to stay in Castelia City and work."

"You don't seem happy with your job, though. Every night you come home tired and sometimes irritable."

"I'm just done dealing with people at that point, though. I don't mind the work. It's repetitive, sure, but it isn't terribly difficult." Niko explained. "Plus, it's not like I'll be there forever."

"I know. I'm just saying. So far we're doing alright! We should think about going on another journey one day!"

"Alright, fine. One day…" Niko said, pointing his finger at Warren. "Anyways, I'm off to bed. Night."

"G'night, Niko." Warren said, laying down next to his pokémon.

* * *

The following day was largely the same: more walking and talking. After living with Warren for months now, Niko knew most of his roommate's background, as well as a litany of stories from his childhood, school, and with Sydney. Warren would occasionally ask Niko the same, but he wouldn't get very detailed answers because, again, Niko was hesitant to talk about himself. Meanwhile snivy, poliwag, and sewaddle were all listening to the discussion intently, eager to learn about their human companions.

By nightfall, like with Nacrene City, the two made it to Striaton City. It was large—and reminded Niko of cities roughly the same size as Viridian City. As they made their way through the lamp-lit town, the two observed a massive garden to their right, filled with large ponds with wooden bridges running over them in an archlike shape. Finding the Pokémon Center didn't take long, and before they realized it, they were already off to bed.

The following morning went largely the same as it did in Nacrene—Niko woke up earlier than Warren, and sat in a booth in the Pokémon Center lobby, playing with his food while snivy observed him.

Over the journey, he had grown to like snivy more than he had thought. The Grass Snake pokémon was quiet and seemed to enjoy the company of the group. On the way to Striaton City the previous day, Niko watched snivy interact with poliwag and sewaddle. It was a nice sight to see, and made it clear to Niko that snivy hardly had any social interaction with others before Niko found her in a dumpster. Then a thought came to mind.

"Hey snivy, I have a question." The Grass Snake looked up at him as they locked eyes. "Did you have a trainer before meeting me?"

Snivy shook her head.

"Ah, alright. Just checking. I used to have a pokémon that belonged to a trainer before I caught him." When snivy gave him a curious look, he sighed, and then continued. "Yeah, I used to be a pokémon trainer. I'll admit it. But don't say anything to Warren or his pokémon. Not that you could to Warren, but you get my point."

Snivy nodded, smirking a little, as if she had known it all along. Niko shook his head, finding snivy's smugness funny.

A few minutes later, Warren and his pokémon showed up and had breakfast with Niko and snivy. After a while, they decided to check out Striaton City while they were at it. Warren noted that there was a Trainer's School and a high-class Striaton Restaurant that they should go to before leaving. The restaurant, Warren noted, used to be a Pokémon Gym, and instead it's now just a place to eat and watch pokémon dance and entertain.

The Trainer's School was, understandably, not open to Niko and Warren, but they did get a chance to watch some of the practice battles in the yard from a distance. Niko held snivy in his arms as they watched a black cat pokémon fight a terrier dog-like pokémon. The cat ultimately won out, and its trainer was acting smug as he gloated his victory.

They also got a chance to watch a snivy fight a fire pig pokémon. Both were impressive battlers, with the snivy conjuring a storm of leaves from its tail, and the pig using ember constantly. But ultimately the pig won out, defeating the snivy before it too fell in exhaustion.

"That snivy must have been trained really well." Niko noted, looking down at snivy. "Did you see that move it used? What was that?"

"I think it's called leaf tornado." Warren asked. "Guess your snivy will be able to learn that move, too."

"It's not my snivy." Niko said, correcting his friend.

"Whatever you say." Warren said with a wink before turning around. "C'mon, let's go check out that restaurant and be on our way!"

The restaurant was a two-story building with a red carpet leading up the front stairs to the front door. As Niko and Warren walked in, a man with bright green hair approached them.

"Welcome to the Striaton Restaurant! I am Cilan, and I'll be your server today. How are you both?" He asked in a kind, cordial voice as he led the two to their seats.

"Doing great!" Warren said. "How about you?"

"Ah, I'm doing well. Is this your first time here?"

"Yes, we're just passing through Striaton City right now." Warren replied.

"Oh? And for what purpose?" Cilan asked. Warren then explained their mission in going to Nuvema Town and reuniting snivy with her home. "How very nice of you two, taking a pokémon back to where they're from. I once went on a journey as well, with a dragon trainer and a young boy from Pallet Town. That was…one of the best experiences of my life. Enjoy it while you can!"

"How was it? Where did you go?"

"We went throughout Unova mainly. I could talk for days about our adventures, but I don't want to bore you. Oh…" He looked at poliwag. "That is a wonderful poliwag you've got there."

"Thanks, I've had him for a while now."

"I may be a waiter, but I'm actually a Pokémon Connoisseur." When Niko and Warren both gave him curious looks, Cilan continued. "It's essentially a person who specializes in identifying the compatibility between Pokémon Trainer's and their pokémon." He crouched down to poliwag's level and looked at it. "From a very basic examination," He said after a couple minutes, "I can say that your poliwag is very content with you. You have a strong bond."

"Makes sense." Warren smiled, looking down at poliwag. "Hey, can you take a look at that snivy?" He asked, much to Niko's objection, as the latter say what Warren was doing.

"Ah, but that snivy isn't yours, is it?" Cilan asked. Niko nodded, not feeling completely comfortable with it. Cilan looked down at snivy, and after a few minutes smiled. "That snivy seems happy with you, sir. I can tell in its eyes that it wants to get stronger. It's ambitious."

"I see…" Niko looked down at snivy. Cilan was right—if he looked directly at the Grass Snake's eyes, he could see a small fire within them.

"Anyways, what will you be having today?" Cilan asked. Niko and Warren placed their orders, and as Cilan walked away, Warren turned to his friend.

"Okay, why was that necessary?" Niko asked as he put snivy down.

"Because it's clear snivy wants a trainer. Maybe you can be that trainer." Warren said.

"I'm not going to be a trainer!" Niko said, raising his voice a little. When he realized other people were watching, he sat back in his chair and shut up.

During their meal, they got a chance to watch pokémon perform on a stage in the back of the room. They were three monkey-like pokémon that Warren claimed were called pansage, pansear, and panpour. Then, Cilan and two of the other waiters appeared on the stage.

"May I have your attention?" They asked to the audience. "We would like to invite a trainer onto the stage for an after-lunch battle. Who would like to volunteer?"

Niko tried to not make eye contact with Warren. But it turned out he didn't need to. Snivy tugged on his pant leg. Looking down, Niko sighed. "You want to battle?"

Snivy nodded.

"Fine…" Niko raised his hand. "I volunteer."

"Excellent!" The waiter with fiery red hair—Chili—responded. "Please come up here." Niko walked up to the stage with snivy following closely behind. He introduced himself to Chili, Cilan, and the third waiter, Cress. "Alright, so as you all may know, this used to be the Striaton City Gym, and we were the gym leaders. Generally, we like to offer battles to guests. Now, Niko right? Who would you like to battle?"

Niko eyed each of the trainers, trying to figure out who might be easier to battle. "Cress." He finally said.

"Very well." Cress said as Chili and Cilan both left the stage, and he took several steps back to create distance between him and Niko. He then pulled out a pokéball. "Panpour, I choose you!"

"Snivy, let's go." Niko said, turning to the Grass Snake. "I think this is a water type, so we should be just fine." He then thought about it for a moment, and realized he had no idea what moves snivy knew. "Err…use tackle?"

Snivy charged forward at panpour, who quickly retaliated by shifting to its left and releasing a burst of water from its mouth, hitting snivy and knocking her to the ground.

"Snivy, use tackle again!" Niko shouted. This time, panpour duplicated itself in a move that Niko recognized as double team. "Agh…alright, then. Snivy, use whatever move you can!"

Niko observed as green vines erupted out of snivy's neck, frantically whipping around as they hit the panpour copies, leaving the original unharmed. Snivy then dodged a water gun and charged forward at panpour, who responded with a scratch attack, slashing its paw against snivy and knocking her to the ground.

"Now, scald!" Cress commanded. Panpour shot out another burst of water, but this time it looked like it was steaming. Snivy cried out as the hot water contacted her body. She tried to retaliate with another vine whip, but panpour evaded with double team and then proceeded to use scratch on her with enough force to knock her off the stage.

"Snivy!" Niko said, leaping off of the stage to grab the Grass Snake pokémon. "Are you alright?"

The Grass Snake nodded as Cilan declared the victory for Cress and his panpour.

"Well, you did good. I can see what Cilan means by being ambitious. You want to grow stronger, don't you?" When snivy nodded, Niko smiled in return. "Well, I hope you find a trainer that can do that for you."

When they got back to their table, Warren had nothing but a smile on his face.

"You two did well." He said observantly.

"Not really. Snivy did more than I did." He looked down at an exhausted snivy. "But she definitely deserves a good trainer to help her get stronger."

"Yeah, she does." Warren said, watching as poliwag comforted snivy. The group finished their lunch and, after thanking the trio of waiters, left the restaurant and Striaton City.

The road to their next destination—Accumula Town—took less than a day, with the group arriving the morning following their adventures in Striaton City. During that time, Niko and Warren continued to talk, with the latter casually trying to convince Niko to take snivy and become a pokémon trainer, and Niko denying it every time. By the time they made it to Accumula Town, Niko had silenced any discussion on the topic, and refused to answer each time.

Accumula Town was smaller than Nacrene and Striaton City, by far, but it was still a sizeable community. It was situated on several different hills, with sets of stairs leading up and down to different buildings. All in all, it didn't have much to offer from Niko's perspective, and when he and Warren made it to the Pokémon Center, they didn't waste too much time in grabbing a bite to eat and leaving the town right after.

"So, we should probably make it to Nuvema Town tomorrow morning or early afternoon." Niko said as he and Warren were leaving the town limits of Accumula Town.

"Got it. Almost done!" Warren said excitedly.


	4. Niko and Snivy

**Episode 4: Niko and Snivy**

"There it is, Niko." Warren said the following morning. "Nuvema Town."

"Indeed. Hey, snivy." Niko said, looking down at the Grass Snake, who was standing at his feet. "This is your home, right?" Snivy nodded. "Then let's get going."

Nuvema Town looked akin to Pallet Town in Niko's mind. It was a small town with a harbor and airport tower to the south. The only notable building was a massive laboratory to the west. The two walked through the town, looking around for what could be snivy's home. The entire time, the Grass Snake was looking around eagerly, trying to find his way around the town. Ultimately, they found themselves in front of the laboratory, which snivy seemed to recognize.

"I guess this is where snivy is from…" Niko said.

"Makes sense. Snivy is a starter pokémon, so this must be the place trainer's go to get their new pokémon." Warren added. Niko was about to walk up to the door when a short blonde woman with a green and white-striped cap ran out, nearly colliding with him.

"Oh! Oh I'm so sorry!" She said, eying Niko apologetically.

"No worries." Niko said. The woman then looked down at snivy, and her eyes widened.

"You—Professor Juniper is looking for you!" She said, immediately recognizing the grass type.

"You know this pokémon?" Niko asked.

"Of course I do! I'm the assistant to Professor Juniper. It's part of my job to help her obtain the starter pokémon that she gives out to new trainers. This one ran away a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, I found it in a dumpster in Castelia City." Niko added, scratching the back of his head. "I'm Niko, by the way."

"Bianca. And did you say Castelia City?" Niko nodded. "Wow! Snivy! What were you doing so far away!? Professor Juniper was worried about you!"

Snivy lowered her head in shame, and Niko kneeled down to pat her head. "Whatever reason snivy had for leaving, it probably wasn't ill-intended. I've been travelling with her for a few days now, and she seems like a kind little pokémon."

"She is…" Bianca said, looking more sympathetic. "We were just worried. I'm sorry if I overreacted. Snivy, I've got to go run an errand, but the professor is inside. I think you should go see her." Snivy nodded, and walked into the lab. As Niko and Warren were about to follow her, Bianca held the former back. "And thank you for finding snivy. We appreciate the help."

"No problem. It was actually my roommate—Warren—that convinced me to take her home. He deserves more of the credit than I do."

Bianca nodded. "Either way, it's appreciated."

The inside of the lab was similar to Professor Oak's—there was machines scattered around the room; shelves lined the walls, all filled with hundreds of books relating to pokémon. In the back of the room sat a tall woman with light brown hair pulled up in a bun towards the back of her head. After hearing Niko and Warren's footsteps, she spun around in her chair to face them. Upon seeing the group, her eyes widened and mouth turned into a smile.

"Snivy!" She shouted, holding her arms out as snivy ran up to her. "Bianca and I have been worried sick about you. Where have you been?"

"I found her in a dumpster in Castelia City." Niko said. "She was hungry, so I fed her. Then my roommate, Warren here, suggested we take her back to her home, which we figured might be here."

"Well, you were both correct. I truly appreciate it. Castelia City is a long way from here. Did you travel by boat?"

"Err…no. We walked."

"Oh my! Well, then I don't know what to say. This was very kind of you. You see, it's my job here to help new trainers get started on their journey by offering them one of three pokémon. Snivy is one of them, and as of late they've been hard to find. And so trainers that have shown up here have only had a choice between two pokémon: the fire type Tepig and water type Oshawott. Oh, also…silly me. I'm Professor Aurea Juniper. And you are…?"

"My name's Niko. As I said, this is my roommate Warren."

"Pleasure to meet both of you. Please, allow me to take you to get some food. You both must be hungry."

"We are." Warren said, eliciting a glare from Niko. "What!? I am!"

"Yeah…so am I, actually." Niko admitted.

Juniper took them to a small café near the laboratory where Niko Warren described their journey over the past several days. Juniper seemed particularly interested in Niko's battle against Cress in Striaton City.

"Your assessment of snivy is correct—she is ambitious. But it isn't a surprise that she lost to Cress, as him and his brothers are tough gym leaders. Or, they used to be."

"What happened to that gym?" Warren asked.

"Nothing really. A new gym opened up in Aspertia City, and they wanted to focus less on battling and more on their restaurant. Plus with Cilan less interested in being a gym leader, the other two lost interest as well. The three of them, as you can imagine, are quite close." She looked down at snivy, who was eating a carrot. "Snivy loves carrots, as I'm sure you've noticed.

"I have. Someone told me that grass types prefer vegetables over most foods, which I didn't really think much about before."

"This is true for most grass types. There are some, I've noticed, that don't. But that's neither here nor there. I'm interested in hearing about you two. Where are you both originally from, if not Castelia City?"

"I'm from Castelia, actually. Graduated from the university there." Warren replied.

"Ah, excellent school. I have friends that went there. And you, Niko?"

"I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto."

"That's quite far. What brings you to Unova?"

"I just wanted to start fresh here. I'm currently working as a dishwasher for a restaurant in Castelia until I find something that I'm really interested in."

"What might that be, then?" Juniper asked. Her head was resting on her hands, and her elbows resting on the table. She gazed at him with interest.

"I—I haven't figured that out yet."

"Are you interested in being a pokémon trainer?"

"Not really…why do you ask?"

"Just curious. It's part of my job to ask young people that question. I rarely find myself doing so, since trainers generally come to me first. But I figured I'd at least ask."

"Niko's not a bad battler, especially since he hasn't really done it before." Warren added. "you should have seen him and snivy in that battle, it was really cool."

"It was mostly snivy, though." Niko said. "Plus, we lost with a type advantage. How's that impressive."

"Sometimes, Niko, type advantages don't matter as much. They help, and can certainly make or break a battle, but the bond between a trainer and pokémon can help to overcome that disadvantage." Juniper commented. "I've seen a lot of battles, and been in some of my own. I've seen some incredible feats that wouldn't normally be possible if you consider type advantages.

"Anyways, I should get going with snivy. If you both want, I can take you to the port so you can get back on your way to Castelia City."

"That would be nice, thanks." Niko replied.

"Of course. I need to go back to the lab for a bit, but I can meet you in an hour or so, if that works with you both."

"Certainly." Niko said, and Juniper then stood up and walked out of the café with snivy, leaving Niko and Warren alone. As soon as she left, Warren leaned over and looked at Niko. "What?" He demanded to know.

"What did you think of that conversation?" Warren asked with a curious look.

"I thought it was fine…why? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, but I really think you should be a trainer." Warren stated. When Niko shot him a glare, he continued. "You seemed at peace in battling with snivy. I think you'd be good at it if you gave it a try. Plus, snivy likes you. It's pretty obvious."

Niko turned to realize snivy was gone. Professor Juniper must have taken her. He then thought more about what Warren had said. He was kind of right—Niko did feel at peace in that one battle. But that battle wasn't representative of other battles he's had. He had a feeling that snivy enjoyed his company, but he didn't understand why. He had never been completely kind to the Grass Snake pokémon. Whether or not he was a good battler was a completely different reason.

But, Niko figured, there was a third way. He didn't need to compete in gyms to be a trainer. And he certainly didn't need to battle. Warren was a trainer, too! And he never battles. Niko smirked at the discovery of this option.

"You're right, Warren." He finally said. "I'll talk with Professor Juniper and become a trainer. But I won't battle. How does that sound?"

"But, isn't battling…"

"Part of the deal? Not always. You don't battle, but aren't you a trainer?" Warren couldn't argue with this, and instead nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Anyways, let's head back to the lab. We don't exactly have a lot of time before we should be leaving."

"Yeah, let's go." Warren said, and the two got up and left the café.

* * *

"So, you want to become a pokémon trainer?" Professor Juniper said with slight surprise.

"Yes. And I'd like to train snivy." Niko said with more decisiveness than he has ever had. At this suggestion, Juniper raised an eyebrow. And the snivy at her ankles looked up in awe. Niko turned to snivy now. "We battle well together. If that's part of being a pokémon trainer, then I'll train you. But keep this in mind—I don't like battling anymore. But you'd be living with me, Warren, and his pokémon in Castelia City. Does that appeal to you at all?"

Snivy turned to the floor and looked at it for a moment, processing the offer Niko placed before her. Eventually, after a minute, she looked back up at Niko and nodded.

"Well, looks like you're a trainer now, Niko!" Professor Juniper said, turning to her desk and pulling out a pokéball from a drawer. "This is snivy's pokéball." Niko took the pokéball and pocketed it, thanking the professor. "Also, I have for you a pokédex, in the event that you ever journey outside of Castelia City. It has data updated for all Unova pokémon, as well as for pokémon in other regions as well." She handed Warren and Niko a pokédex each. "Am I missing anything? I don't think so! But…Niko, if either you or Warren want to challenge Unova's gyms, I would recommend the one in Aspertia City. The leader there, Cheren, is an old student of mine. He's tough, to be sure, but he will provide an ample first challenge for either of you."

"Thanks for the advice, Professor." Warren said.

"No problem. Now, allow me to take you both to the port. There's a boat that takes you to Castelia City in half an hour."

As Niko was turning to leave the lab, he saw snivy run up to take a spot by his side. He looked down and smirked at the little grass type. It felt nice to have a pokémon again, even if it was just as a friend, and not as a battling partner. Even though he was going back to his life as a dishwasher in Castelia City, he felt better about his life moving forward. It might be because of snivy. But it might be because having a pokémon took a step towards bringing him back to the person he used to be. Niko didn't realize this until later, though.

The three—and their pokémon—made it to the port in only a few minutes, thanks to catching a ride in Juniper's car. As they approached the ticket station, the Professor pulled out two tickets.

"Here you go, boys. Even though you're leaving again with snivy, I really appreciate the thought in bringing her back. But I have a good feeling that she'll be happier with you, Niko." Juniper said with a smile. "I wish you the best of luck in whatever you do, and hope that you will be happy with the choices you've made on this journey." She looked down at snivy. "You're in good hands, I believe. I hope to see you again one day, snivy."

Snivy nodded happily before watching Niko and Warren shake the Professor's hand and continue on to the boat. As soon as the boat left the port, snivy was picked up by Niko, and she could see Juniper waving to them. Snivy waved back as well, leaving the only home she'd ever truly known. She then looked up at Niko, who reciprocated the look.

"Hopefully you don't get sea sickness like I do." Niko said with a smile.


	5. Charlotte

**Episode 5: Charlotte**

With his new pokémon, snivy, Niko arrived back in Castelia City ready to continue life as he knew it. Along with Warren, he went back to work, leaving snivy at his apartment with poliwag and sewaddle.

The winner here was poliwag, who was no longer lonely at home when his trainer was at work. He enjoyed having the company of snivy and sewaddle. Usually the three of them wouldn't do much but sleep, eat, or chase after each other, however nevertheless it was better than solitude from the perspective of a chipper, social pokémon.

Meanwhile, Niko returned to his job with a better outlook on life. The job didn't get any easier, to be sure, but Niko felt happier more generally, and found himself engaging in conversations with his coworkers, many of whom recognized his heightened mood, even if they didn't inquire about it.

Warren returned to his job with a sense that something was missing. It was clear, not just in his conversations with Niko and Sydney, but also his interactions with others, that he wasn't exactly himself. In one discussion with his girlfriend about something funny sewaddle did, Warren's mood noticeably turned dour.

"Warren…" Sydney finally said.

"What's up?" He replied.

"You want to travel, don't you?"

Warren sat there at their lunch table, trying to come up with a response. Eventually, he just nodded. "Yeah, I do. It was so much fun, Sydney! Not just spending time with Niko, poliwag, and sewaddle. But just being out in the world! Seeing things I'd never seen before! The air was fresh, and the forests and valleys I got to walk through were so beautiful! I got to see a pokémon battle up close, and met a former gym leader!"

Sydney couldn't help but smiling at Warren's description of his travels. "Well, if that's what you want to do, then you should do it!"

"But Niko…he doesn't want to, and I don't want to leave him alone to pay for our apartment."

"You've got some money to pay for another couple months, right? All he'd need to do is get a better paying job, which he is certainly capable of doing. Or you could find another person to replace you."

"You're right. I'll talk with Niko about it tonight." Warren said, leaning over and hugging Sydney. "Thanks for being so supportive."

"Of course. But just so you know, I'm going to miss you."

"I still haven't figured out when I'm going to leave, or where I'm going!" He said. "I need to give two weeks' notice, right?" Sydney nodded.

* * *

Niko had the day off, and so he decided to spend it taking the pokémon out on a walk through the city. Sewaddle hadn't seen the city before, and was amazed—and frightened—by the sheer number of people. Snivy and poliwag, both of whom were keeping close to Niko, didn't seem as fazed by the crowds on the streets.

He had decided to start the day by taking them to a nearby park, and then a pokémon café where snivy nearly got into a conflict with the little terrier pokémon Niko had seen back in Striaton City. Obviously it wasn't the same exact one, but it was the same species. Niko had to pull his pokémon away just as the Grass Snake was about to whip out her vines.

"Snivy, calm down. It didn't do anything wrong to you. Fight when it's necessary to—now is not necessary." He said in a calm tone. Snivy, hearing this, simply glared at the pokémon and turned away. "I'm so sorry. She's still very young."

"Well, think about that next time you bring her around other pokémon!" The terrier's owner said before picking up his own pokémon and walking away in a huff.

Niko sighed to himself, looking down at snivy, who angrily ate her lunch next to poliwag and a frightened sewaddle, who quickly learned to never get on snivy's bad side. Niko then turned to his own lunch and continued eating.

"Excuse me." Niko looked up to see a short brunette woman staring at him. "Sorry. I just wanted to see if your snivy was alright. It seemed upset by that lillipup."

"Yeah, she's alright. Thanks for asking." Niko said. He then eyed the woman curiously. "Wait a second…I—"

"—recognize you from somewhere." She finished. "We met at the market like a week ago, right?" Niko nodded, suddenly remembering the woman who recommended giving snivy a vegetable. "That snivy, it's not yours, correct?"

"She is now. I recently caught her."

"Oh! Well done. Snivys are rare in Unova. Usually one has to go to Nuvema Town to get one. But, of course, that's only if they plan on going on a journey."

"That's exactly how I caught snivy, actually. I just got back from Nuvema Town. But…I'm not going on some journey or becoming a battler."

"Oh? Why not? It sounds like a lot of fun."

"Not my idea of fun, actually."

"Your name's Niko, right?" She asked. When Niko nodded, she smiled. "Good. I'm bad with names. Glad I remembered at least one of them."

"And you're…god, I forgot…sorry."

"Charlotte. And don't worry about it!" Charlotte said. "Anyways, I've got to go. I'll catch ya later, Niko!"

"See ya." Niko said plainly as he continued with his lunch, paying no mind to the young woman he met. After several more minutes, he finished his food and left the café with the pokémon, sewaddle in his arms.

The small group continued walking around the city, including taking a trip to the docks. The pokémon took turns getting picked up to get a better view of the ocean beyond. Each time, Niko would pay attention to their reaction. It was similar to how they felt while on the boat from Nuvema Town, but this time it seemed different.

"I come from the other side of that ocean." Niko said. This wasn't necessarily true—he didn't really know which direction Kanto was in. But it was enough to stoke wonder in snivy's mind. She couldn't communicate with Niko, but he noticed the wonder she expressed with that information in mind. "It's a long ways away, but I came to Unova from that ocean." He put snivy down and picked sewaddle up again. "C'mon guys, let's start making our way back to the apartment. Warren's going to be home in an hour or two."

They were walking back down the streets for some time, weaving in and out of human traffic on the sidewalks, until they made it to a relatively silent street. This was normal—there would some parts of Castelia City that just weren't as populated constantly. As the group walked through, suddenly Niko heard someone yelling, and then a loud thud.

"What was that…?" He asked, looking down at snivy and poliwag, both of whom turned in the direction of it. "Let's go check it out." He broke into a jog, running down the street until he found the origin of the sound—in an alleyway.

There he saw Charlotte leaning over what looked like a smeargle surrounded by a number of men in black leather clothing.

"Sewaddle, string shot!" Niko yelled without hesitation, throwing the Sewing pokémon into the air. "Snivy, vine whip! Poliwag, water gun!"

Snivy charged forward, unleashing her green vines and slapping the man on the left while poliwag shot a jet of water at the right. Sewaddle, meanwhile, managed to tie up all three together, swinging around all three of them and finally landing in front of Charlotte and the smeargle, looking quite pleased with herself. Snivy and poliwag then ran over to join sewaddle as the gang's pokémon turned their attention to the trio.

"Sewaddle, razor leaf! Snivy, vine whip! Poliwag, hypnosis!" Niko shouted from the opposite end of the alley. Sewaddle conjured a torrent of sharp green leaves that slashed and cut at the enemy pokémon—two zubats and a purple cat pokémon Niko recognized from Striaton City. Snivy charged forward and slapped the vines at the cat-like pokémon, who retaliated with scratch while the zubats attempted to use leech life on snivy, but quickly found themselves put to sleep—along with their trainers—by poliwag's hypnosis. "Great job, you three." Niko said as he ran over to Charlotte and the smeargle.

"Are you two alright?" He asked, crouching down to their level. Charlotte looked completely unharmed. It was the smeargle, however, that wasn't fine. It was bruised and cut in a few spots.

"Those thugs attacked smeargle with their pokémon…" She said.

"We need to get smeargle to a Pokémon Center, alright?"

Charlotte nodded. "I can't carry him, though. Too heavy."

"I'll put him on my back. Can you carry my roommate's sewaddle, though?" Charlotte nodded, and Niko threw smeargle over his shoulders and walked off, Charlotte walking closely behind. It didn't take too long to get to the Pokémon Center, but Niko was certainly exhausted by the time he got there, throwing smeargle off of his back and onto a stretcher that took it into a backroom.

Charlotte handed sewaddle back to Niko as they sat down in the lobby. "Thanks for helping me out back there. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem. We're just lucky to have been close by."

"What were you doing in this part of the city?" Charlotte asked.

"I was on the way back to my apartment, actually." Niko mentioned. "What exactly happened to you?" He continued after a while.

"I was walking alone down the street—which I never recommend to anyone at sunset or even nighttime—and those gangsters cornered me, forced me into an alleyway, and wanted my pokémon. So I sent out smeargle and tried to fight them. Guess it didn't work." She said, feeling unhappy with herself. "I've never been good at battling! We should have been stronger, but we weren't…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm no good at battling, either."

"But you stopped them. You commanded three pokémon at once." Charlotte said.

"It was the adrenaline at work." Niko replied. "Trust me—I'm no good at battling."

"You're still better than I am…" She said, looking down. "I've always wanted to get better at battling, but could never go on a journey to do it. My Mom—who I still live with—wanted me to continue with my education instead. And now that I've just graduated, I have to look for a 'real job.'"

"I hear ya." Niko said. "For a while I wanted to go on a journey, but school was more important."

"You went to Castelia University too?"

"No. I'm not from Unova. And I don't have a college education." Niko added.

"Where're you from, then?"

"Pallet Town in Kanto." Niko said curtly.

"Wow. That's really far away. What's Kanto like?"

"What do you mean?" Niko asked.

"I don't know—I've just never left Unova. Or really Castelia City, for that matter. I know people in other towns, but I've never gotten the chance to visit them. Of course, that's because I can't travel."

"My roommate really wants to go travelling. And he keeps trying to get me to do it with him. But I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Not interested anymore. It's more personal than that, though." Niko said, looking down at snivy, who was asleep next to poliwag and sewaddle. They had had a long day.

"Oh. Sorry for asking then." The two were silent for some time before Charlotte eventually spoke again. "Random thought, but you remind me of someone."

"Oh, who?"

"This trainer that I watched battle in the Lily of the Valley Conference. He looks really similar to you. I forget his name, though, but he's also from Pallet Town."

Niko—who looked nothing like the person he was months ago—began to internally panic. "Wh-what battle?"

"I was preoccupied with a paper when I was watching, but this trainer was using a prinplup against his opponent's toxicroak, I think. I don't think he won—didn't see the entire battle. But I could have sworn he looked like you."

Niko was silent, and then smiled while he shook his head. "Wasn't me. I've never participated in a Pokémon League."

"Oh, alright. Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing, Charlotte. It's a fair thing to ask."

"Do you want to join me for dinner, as a way of repaying you?" She asked.

"Sure, why not. Where would we go?"

"You and your pokémon can come over to my place. I don't think my mom will mind having guests over. I don't have a lot of friends, anyways, so I don't have many people over."

"Same here. When I left Kanto, I kind of left my friends back there."

"Oh…" She said.

"It-it wasn't on bad terms, though!" Niko said. Just then, smeargle and Nurse Joy appeared in the lobby, and an excited Charlotte got up to hug smeargle.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy! Smeargle, this is Niko and his pokémon, snivy, sewaddle, and poliwag. They helped us out."

Smeargle turned to the recently awoken pokémon and shook their hands—or pat their back, in the case of poliwag. It then looked up at Niko and shook his hand as well. "Nice to meet you, smeargle. You've got a great trainer." He said, turning to Charlotte. "Anyways, let's get going."

* * *

Charlotte didn't live too far from the Pokémon Center, in a duplex apartment in a rather quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown Castelia City. Upon entering, Niko saw an ordinary living room with a couch, TV, and shelves upon shelves of movies and other miscellaneous CDs. In the adjoining kitchen, a woman only a little taller than Charlotte walked out to greet them.

"Hello—Charlotte, who's the boy?" She asked kindly.

"Mom, this is Niko and his pokémon. He helped smeargle and I get out of a…situation."

"What 'situation?'" Her mom asked. "What happened to you this time?"

 _This time?_ Niko thought to himself. Was this not the first time Charlotte's been attacked?

"Yes…but we couldn't have gotten out of it without Niko!" She said.

"Well, in that case, Niko—thank you. I can't express how grateful I am for what you did. Charlotte, well, she has found herself in confrontations before, and her smeargle isn't strong enough to stop any attackers."

"It was no problem. We were lucky to be there."

"Anyways, Mom, I owe it to Niko. Can he stay for dinner?"

"Of course he can. It's not often you have people over. By the way, my name's Emily." She said, and Charlotte guided Niko over to the couch where they sat for some time, watching mindless television. The pokémon sat on the couch as well, eager to see the moving images on the screen. Smeargle, on its part, was relaxing on the longer edge of the couch lazily.

Niko and Charlotte didn't make much small talk until Emily walked into the living room and sat down with them. She then began to ask Niko questions, mainly pertaining to where he was from, what he did for work, etc. He answered each one in turn politely.

"Charlotte has always wanted to travel through Unova, but never did."

"Because you wouldn't let me!"

"Well, of course I won't. Take a look at today! Your pokémon isn't strong enough."

"But if I travelled then smeargle would get stronger, and I would be able to catch other pokémon, too!" Charlotte said in protest. She looked to Niko, thinking about what he said about travelling. He didn't want to.

Dinner didn't take too long, and before they knew it, Niko was on his way back home with his pokémon. As he was about to leave, Emily proposed driving him back, which he readily accepted after walking all day.

"Thanks again. We should hang out sometime." Charlotte said as they approached Niko's apartment.

"For sure. Next time you can come over, and my roommate and I will make something." Niko suggested.

"Sounds like a good time." She said with a smile as Niko and his pokémon got out of the car. He thanked them, and then walked up to his room, where Warren and Sydney were waiting for him.

"Niko! There you are! Sewaddle, poliwag!" Warren said cheerfully, opening his arms to embrace his pokémon. "Where have you been?"

"Long story." Niko said as he sat down in a chair, snivy in his lap. "What's up?"

"I, err, have something to tell you." Warren said. "But first, tell me about your day. What'd you all do?"

Niko recounted his day with the pokémon—the café incident, seeing the park and docks, and then everything relating to Charlotte. By this point, Sydney shot him a suggestive look. "No…no no. Sydney…I recognize that look." Niko said, aggressively shaking his head. "It's not like that, though!"

"Sure it isn't…" She smirked.

"I swear it isn't. I literally just got to know her today." He then continued despite her glare. When he finished, Warren took a deep breathe.

"Well, it's a shame you don't want to travel, bud, because it seems like your new friend wants to. And, well, so do I." Warren then explained his decision to leave Castelia City and go on a journey. When he finished, he discussed the logistics of his leaving with Niko, who didn't give any indication of how he felt. When they finished talking, Warren asked Niko how he felt about it all.

"I don't really know how I feel." He said.

"I get that. It's a lot to take in." Warren said. "But, I'll ask you once again—do you want to join me?"

"No. And here's why." Niko said. He didn't want to explain the real reason for why, but he would give them a better reason—hopefully—than he had before. "I'm afraid of travelling." When he saw the couple's confused look, he elaborated. "I'm not a battler, and I feel like if I went on a journey, I'd be tempted to compete in gyms and such."

"But why? You haven't tried them before, right?" Sydney asked.

Niko nodded in response. "I—I guess I'm afraid of losing. Or not being good enough."

"Niko…" Warren began. "If that's what you're afraid of, then I understand. How about this—if you wanted to join me, you could give one gym battle a shot. And if it isn't for you, then you could come back to Castelia City, or you could continue just travelling with me. No pressure, but I would love to have you with me."

"I'll think about it. How does that sound?"

Warren nodded.

* * *

Niko didn't get much sleep that night. He kept running the decision through his head—weighing the pros and cons, choosing to go one moment and then changing his mind the next. Images of the Lily of the Valley Conference, his final battle against Palmer, Lauren, each reminding him of what he had lost in his decision to quit being a trainer. It had hardened the person he was—he hero his friends portrayed him as. He was no longer the person that helped Zinnia stop Team Aqua and Magma, or the person that stopped Hunter J on Mt. Coronet.

No, he was the person who forfeited a match because he lost faith in himself. He was the person who left behind his friends, family, and pokémon because he couldn't reconcile with the fact that his rival—his total opposite—had won, and in more ways than one. He saw himself as a failure, and his past self as an entirely different person. Brittany, JJ, Fay, Lauren, even Jake were all a distant memory to him, or they at least seemed like one.

Niko looked at snivy, who was laying down on a bed sound asleep. He thought of her. What did she want to do? He knew snivy was ambitious, and wanted to be stronger. To do that, she needed to battle. But was Niko still the best bet for her to achieve her goal? He didn't know, but he owed it to her to at least try.

He owed it to Warren to give travelling—and battling—another shot.

He owed it to himself.

Warren woke up for work the next morning to see Niko sitting at their kitchen table. With Sydney close behind him, he looked at his roommate.

"So?" He asked.

Niko took a deep breathe, and nodded. "I'm in." In that moment, he had never seen a wider grin on Warren's face. "When do we leave?"

"Two weeks. I want to give my boss some time to hire a replacement. And I'm sure yours feels the same way."

"Yeah. And it gives us time to figure out what to do with this place." Niko said, extending his arms out. "Plus…we also have another logistic to figure out, but I'll get back to you on that."

* * *

"Niko! What's up?" Charlotte said as Niko and snivy appeared at her door, several days later. "Come on in. How're you?" She was alone; presumably her mother was working.

"I'm alright. You?" He asked, sitting down on her couch, snivy still in his lap.

"I'm good. Did you want to hang out today? Because I have somewhere to go with my mom in a couple hours, so I don't have a lot of time."

"No, I came here with a question to ask you." Niko said. He suddenly felt nervous, for whatever reason.

"What…is it?" Charlotte asked, looking slightly anxious.

"My roommate and I are going on a journey soon, and I was wondering if you wanted to join me." Niko finally said. Charlotte looked down at her hands in her lap, only answering a few minutes later. "If you don't want to, I get it."

"No, I do. It'd be fun! But…I'd have to run it by my mom first." Niko nodded in understanding. "But she'll be home in a couple hours."

"I can wait." Niko said, laying back on the couch and placing snivy next to him. And so they waited, watching television until Emily appeared through the door.

"Oh, hi Niko. How are you doing?"

"Niko wants me to join him on an adventure!" Charlotte blurted out before Niko could respond.

"Really now…? Where would you be going? How long would you be gone?" She seemed more concerned than anything.

"Charlotte would be coming with my roommate—Warren—and I. We were thinking of taking a boat to Aspertia City first, and then working our way around back to Castelia City. It wouldn't be a long trip, maybe a week or two at most. That's all we have planned so far. Warren wants to travel for a longer period of time, but I'm not really up for that, so I'll probably be coming back to Castelia City."

"Oh, well if it's only for a couple weeks I'm sure it'll be fine. And the area around Aspertia City isn't too dangerous. So if that's what you want, then I'm okay with it, Charlotte. When do you all plan on leaving?"

"In about a week at this point. Warren and I are leaving our jobs. He is because he wants to do this for longer, and I also need to find some work that doesn't involve dishwashing." Niko admitted.

Her mother smiled. "I get that. You need some time to figure out your next steps. Taking a trip is a good way to clear your mind a little." She sat down on the couch with the two. "Well then, when you come back in a week, I'm sure Charlotte will be ready to go."

"I definitely will be!" Charlotte said excitedly. "This'll be fun, even if it's only for a week or two."

"Yeah…" Niko said. He couldn't help but smile. "Well, you know where we live. If you need anything between now and then, stop on by."

"I will, Niko." Charlotte said as Niko and snivy got up and left the duplex for their own apartment. Charlotte turned to her mom. She couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

A week later Niko, Warren, and their pokémon packed upthe last of their supplies into their bags. They weren't any larger than what they took to Nuvema Town. Niko then looked around at their apartment. Warren had decided that he would make one final trip to Castelia City before he completely moved out of the place. Sydney would take their keys in their absence, and generally take care of the place while they were gone, including finding a replacement for Warren while they were gone. Niko had planned to come back, so she didn't consider finding a replacement for him as well.

"Off to the port?" Warren asked.

"Off to the port." Niko said. They decided to take a boat to Aspertia City, the place that Professor Juniper suggested they start if they wanted to take a journey through Unova. After looking at the map, it made sense to start there—they could visit Aspertia City, then Floccessy Town and Virbank City before coming back to Castelia City. From Niko's perspective, it would satisfy both Warren—who wanted to travel with him—and Charlotte, who just wanted to travel more generally.

Half an hour later, they trio met up with Charlotte and her mother at the port that Niko specified to her only a few days prior. "Warren, Sydney, this is my friend Charlotte and her mother, Emily. Charlotte, this is my roommate Warren and his girlfriend, Sydney."

"Pleased to meet you!" Warren said, shaking Charlotte's tiny hand. "So you're joining us?"

"Yes!" Charlotte said, holding a bag over her shoulder. "I'm really excited."

"Same here. Glad we finally broke Niko down enough to get him to join us." Warren said with a wink.

"Oh, please…" Niko said. He then turned to Sydney. "Thanks for helping us out."

"No problem. Please keep an eye on Warren, will you?"

"Of course." Niko said before hugging her. Warren then replaced him, and the couple made small talk while Charlotte and Emily said their goodbyes as well.

"Please made sure she's okay." Emily said, looking wearily at her daughter. "She can get overexcited sometimes. Which is a stronger suit of hers, I believe."

"Yeah, for sure. I'm glad she's joining us." Niko said politely before shaking her friend's mother's hand. The trio—Niko, Warren, and Charlotte—then turned to the boat as it began to load passengers. They all turned to Sydney and Emily, giving them one final look before boarding.

Niko was about to set out on another journey. It would be brief, but he was nervous all the same, even if there was no reason why he should have been.

* * *

 **Author's note: A lot happened in this episode. To be fair, it lasted longer than I thought it would, as I hastened the plot a little more than I had originally planned. Hopefully it all came across smoothly enough and that you all enjoy it.**

 **Let me know what you think, catch ya later.**


	6. Reach for the sky!

**Episode 6: Reach for the sky!**

The last couple of weeks have seemed like a whirlwind for Niko. The last thing he ever expected to be doing was going on another adventure with his friends. Only this time, it was with his roommate, Warren, and his new friend, Charlotte. The three of them were en route to Aspertia City, the first point in their destination, as it was suggested to them by Professor Juniper.

Like with their previous boat ride from Nuvema Town to Castelia City, Niko held out his snivy so she could see the ocean they were travelling on. He looked above him and saw a flock of unfamiliar eagle-like pokémon. In the sea, he and snivy noticed small green piranha-like pokémon.

"What do you think those are?" Niko asked Snivy, who watched them nervously.

"Those are Basculin." Charlotte said. "They're water type pokémon, and very common here in Unova."

"Kind of like Magikarp…" Niko said, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Basculin, the hostile pokémon. Water type. Red-and blue-striped Basculin are very violent and always fighting. They are also remarkably tasty_."

"Well, guess we'd have to try 'Basculin' sometime…" Niko said, contorting his face a little at the thought of knowingly eating a pokémon." Charlotte laughed a little at the comment—and the facial expression.

"It isn't too bad, actually. Castelia City has a great restaurant that sells it."

"Well, it's certainly not the restaurant I worked for, then." He admitted. "And what about those birds up there?" Niko asked, pointing to the eagles, hoping they weren't edible, as they looked kind of adorable.

"I…I think those are Rufflet. But I could be wrong." She said, less certain of herself. Suddenly, she noticed Niko's face turn slightly pale. "You alright?"

"I…yes. I get seasick. I completely forgot that." Niko said, putting down Snivy and running off to somewhere that doesn't trigger his nausea as easily, leaving Charlotte with Snivy and her own smeargle. Warren was laying down on one of the lounge chairs reading a book while Poliwag and Sewaddle took naps.

The trip to Aspertia City took roughly half a day, with the group reaching the city by nightfall. On their way, they noticed a lighthouse far off of the coast of Castelia City. They also noticed a massive tower far off to the south. It looked imposing enough for Charlotte to give it a nervous glance, but she was nevertheless sure it wasn't used with malicious intent.

Meanwhile, on the boat, Niko lay down on a couch in the lower deck of the ship. He hoped that this journey would be over with quickly so he could get back to his life. _Well, I'll come back to Castelia City without a job, so I have that to think about. But I'll have satiated both Warren's and Charlotte's desires to take a trip and see new places. Even if we haven't seen much, it'll have been something, I guess._

 _But doesn't Aspertia City have a gym? I think Warren's going to try and persuade me to go give it a try. I don't want to. I hardly remember the last time I won a gym battle, much less a battle in general. To be fair, Snivy is a strong pokémon, but not strong enough to win a battle. If I have to challenge a gym, I'd be tempted to win it, and so would Snivy. But whether or not my desire is to win, if I don't then none of it matters. If I don't win, then that should be enough to convince myself that I'm truly not cut out for it. And I think that would convince Warren enough that he will not bother me about travelling any more._

"Hey, Niko, we've arrived." Niko looked up to see Charlotte looking down at him, her hazel eyes glaring at him. He must've fallen asleep, as he felt groggy.

"Oh, right." He said, sitting up. "Sorry, I just wasn't feeling myself."

"Yeah, you get seasick. That's fine! Snivy just hung out with me and smeargle. She really likes looking at the sea."

"I've noticed." Niko stood up, towering over Charlotte. "Well, let's check out Aspertia City, then."

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte got off of the boat and walked through the port of Aspertia City. Not sure where to start, they headed to the Pokémon Center first. Sitting in a booth—like usual—the three just made small talk for the remainder of the night.

"So Charlotte," Warren said, leaning forward. "Niko hasn't mentioned much of you. Where're you from?"

"Castelia City. I've lived there my whole life. What about you."

"I've lived in Castelia for most of my life as well." Warren said. "And do you currently work?"

"No, I just graduated a couple months ago, and just been looking for a job while living with my mom."

"Oh? Where'd you go to school?"

"Castelia University."

"Same here! I graduated a year before you, then. What'd you study?"

"Art. I also took enough classes in Pokémon History to get a degree in that as well." Charlotte responded, motioning for Warren to answer the same question.

"Literature and education. I want to teach and write. What about you?"

"Ideally, become an artist. That's incidentally how I met my Smeargle." She said, looking down at the Painter Pokémon. "So, you two when on a trip before this?"

"Yeah, Niko and I went to Nuvema Town with the intent of taking Snivy back to her home."

"And you ended up catching Snivy instead?" Charlotte asked, turning to Niko, who simply nodded. "That's cool. What made you do it?"

"We got closer and human and Pokémon, I guess. Professor Juniper and Warren both thought I'd be the best trainer for her, even though I'm not much of a battler."

"Well, you will be, Niko!" Warren said excitedly. "There's a gym here in Aspertia City, and I think you should take it on!" Niko sighed heavily. He was hoping to avoid this conversation. "You should have seen him take on the former gym leader of Striaton City, Charlotte. It was amazing to see."

"Warren! That was literally the only battle you've ever seen me in, and it's all you talk about." Niko said, raising his voice a little. "Please, just stop."

"But, Niko…I saw a passion in your eyes. You were in the zone there!" Warren protested.

"I lost, though. And I had the advantage."

"So?" Warren asked. "Who cares if you lost! Snivy is new to battling, and you had no idea that Panpour would be as strong as it was. Plus, you didn't even know the kinds of moves Snivy can learn!

"I'd actually like to watch that, if it's as impressive as Warren says." Charlotte finally commented. Niko shot her a glare, and calmed down a little. "But hey, if you don't like battling, then you don't have to. I just think that it might be fun for you, and fun for all of us. Plus, Snivy seems like the type of Pokémon that would genuinely enjoy it too!"

"I don't like battling, you're right." Niko huffed. "But Snivy does. And if you two insist, then sure. I'll try it. But if I lose, then I'm not going to try again, and we'll be on our way. Got it?"

Warren and Charlotte both nodded in agreement, settling the matter. Niko sat back in his chair, slightly content. The three continued talking about miscellaneous things for another couple of hours before heading off to bed in one of the rental rooms in the Pokémon Center. Warren was the first to fall asleep, with Niko and Charlotte staying up a little longer, both silently reading for a bit before sleeping.

Niko woke up the following morning to notice that he was alone in the room. Warren and Charlotte were both out, leaving only himself and Snivy. Stepping out of bed and getting dressed, Niko and his pokémon joined their friends, who were sitting in the same booth from the previous night talking.

"Morning, Niko!" Warren said.

"Morning." Charlotte said with a warm smile. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, like a baby." Niko muttered as he sat down next to the brunette. "You?" Charlotte nodded in response, sipping coffee as she did so. "Good."

"So Niko, ready for your gym battle today?" Warren asked.

"Does it have to be today?" Niko asked exhaustedly. "I'd prefer to train with Snivy for a bit before we go there."

"That's fine. Do you want us around when you train?" He asked.

"If you want to be, but it doesn't matter. I don't even know where to start." Niko replied. This was a lie, as he did know how to train pokémon. Just not train them well.

"You might need a sparring partner, so we should stay." Charlotte said in a nod to Warren, who quickly agreed. "Pokémon Centers often have practice battlefields that we can use. Maybe you can try using one of those?"

"I was thinking about that, actually." Niko said cordially. "And sure, if you guys want to battle against me, that'd be alright."

On the battlefield, Snivy looked up at Niko curiously, unsure of exactly what they were about to do. Charlotte, Warren, and their Pokémon all sat on a nearby bench and watched the two begin their training.

"Snivy, the others want us to try and beat the Aspertia City Gym. And since you want to get stronger, I think this would be a good place to start." Niko said, kneeling down. "Bear with me, because it's been a while since I've trained anyone." He said softly, since Snivy knew that he used to be a Pokémon trainer. Standing back up, he thought of where he might want to start. "Alright, Snivy I want you to jump left and right, like this." Niko said, demonstrating what he meant. "This is something a friend of mine tried once. It's a beginning exercise to help you evade attacks. After a while, try jumping back and forth, like so." Niko then repeated the motion, only moving forwards and backwards. Snivy then began trying it on her own, successfully getting the hang of it. "Great job! You nailed it. Now, let's do that for a couple more minutes with some breaks, and then we can move on to using your moves, alright?"

Snivy nodded and continued jumping around. Warren and Charlotte watched with interest, noting that Niko seemed more adept at training than he had previously shown. He then moved on to working on Snivy's moves, checking in his pokédex that the Grass Snake Pokémon knew tackle, leer, and vine whip.

"So…I guess with vine whip you just want to start by working on the release. For a fast pokémon like you, release is very important, Snivy. If you can land your attack first, it makes it easier to land successive attacks. Make sense?" Snivy nodded. "Alright. Let's try it. Just focus on snapping the vines out. Try it."

Snivy released her vines, albeit it was slower than Niko had noticed during her battles with Cress' Panpour. Frowning slightly, Niko asked her to try it again. Snivy did so, and repeated this for several more minutes until she began to express exhaustion.

"Being tired is a good thing, Snivy. You can do this." He said. "Hey, Warren, care to battle us with poliwag?"

"Of course. C'mon, poliwag!" Warren said, jogging over to one end of the field opposite his roommate. "Let's go! Use water gun!"

"Snivy, dodge and use vine whip!" Niko shouted. As soon as he saw Snivy began charging forward, he saw a blur shoot down from the sky and tackle Snivy. "What the—Snivy! Are you alright?" Niko watched as the dust cloud that had formed from the impact cleared, leaving a small eaglelike Pokémon butting heads with Snivy. "Hey! Get away!" He shouted, waving his arms as he ran towards the Pokémon, who glared at him and charged towards Niko instead.

"Poliwag, water gun!" Warren commanded. The water hit the bird in the back, forcing it to lose control of its wings and crash into the ground. Snivy then lunged forward and quickly released her vine whips. The bird flipped back over and swatted at the green vines with its wings, allowing Niko to get a better look at the small bird.

It was a blue avian pokémon, to be sure, with a large white plume of feathers covering its head and three tail feathers extending from its lower back. The feathery plume extended down past its neck and covered the upper third of its body. Its face was blue with five pointed tips that resembled a mask, and extending from its forehead was a large red and white feather. Lastly, it had a short yellow beak, short yellow legs and talons, and large white and black eyes. From the bench, Charlotte pulled out her pokédex:

" _Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokémon. Normal and flying type. It stands up to massive opponents, not out of courage, but out of recklessness. But that is how it gets stronger_."

"Niko! I was right! These are Rufflets!" Charlotte shouted, evidently proud of herself for being correct. "But…I think this is why it's attacking Snivy. Snivy is bigger than it!"

Charlotte was correct—the Rufflet was quite small. Niko would later learn that normally, Rufflets are taller than the average Snivy. In this case, however, Rufflet was barely a foot in height. It was far below the average height for its species. But Niko didn't consider that in the moment.

"It wants to prove itself…" Niko muttered to himself. "Alright Rufflet. Let's go. Snivy, use leer!"

Snivy glared at Rufflet, which seemed to only anger the Eaglet Pokémon more. The flying type charged at the Grass Snake Pokémon who, using her training, evaded the peck attack and slapped Rufflet in the back of the head with the vines. Rufflet charged a second time, to which Snivy jumped _over_ Rufflet and spun back around, whipping the Eaglet Pokémon in the back with her vines, and knocking it over.

"Niko! You should catch it!" Warren shouted. "It wants to get stronger, too!"

Niko sighed. _Why does Warren have to keep making these kinds of suggestions?_ He asked himself. "I don't think I have a pokéball on me, though!"

"Here!" Charlotte said, tossing one over a spare pokéball. "I brought some with me, just in case!"

"Err, thanks." Niko said picking up the pokéball that eventually rolled up to him. He picked it up, pointed it to Rufflet, and threw it down towards the Eaglet Pokémon, who turned a bright red color and went inside the pokéball. It fell to the ground, wiggled around a few times before ultimately settling with a "click" sound. "Well then…" Niko crouched down to pick up the capture Rufflet. "Guess we have a new partner, Snivy."

"Sni!" Snivy said cheerfully.

"And you did great in that battle. I'm really proud of you." Niko said warmly, which reflected his mood in that moment. Snivy smiled back, feeling more confident in her ability to fight after training with Niko.

Charlotte and Warren walked over to Snivy and Niko, who now stood back up with his new pokéball in hand. "Congrats, Niko." Charlotte said kindly. "That Rufflet looks strong."

"It sure was, right Snivy?" Niko asked, looking down at his pokémon. An exhausted Snivy nodded. "I look forward to getting to know it, too. Rufflet looks pretty adorable. But anyways, Snivy is pretty exhausted. We should wait until later to challenge the Aspertia Gym, alright?"

"Sounds good. Let's go find a place to grab lunch soon!" Warren said. He then led the other two into the Pokémon Center. Niko looked down at his new pokéball containing the Rufflet. It reminded him of how he happened to catch every other bird pokémon that he owned. He had hoped that he could fulfill the Eaglet Pokémon's ambitions.


	7. The determination to continue

**Episode 7: The determination to continue**

"Welcome to the team, Rufflet." Niko said as he kneeled in front of his newest pokémon. "My name is Niko, and this is Snivy. We're going to help you get stronger, if that's when you want."

Rufflet looked at Niko, frowning a little as he studied his new trainer. It was clear he wasn't entirely happy with the idea of being caught, but at the same time the Eaglet Pokémon was tempted by the offer to get stronger.

"We're going to challenge the Aspertia City Gym tomorrow. I want you to do the very best that you can, alright?" Niko said calmly. Rufflet nodded. "Great. Would you like to try training a little?" He asked kindly. Rufflet opened his wings and cawed affirmatively. "Got it. Let's go, Snivy."

Niko, Rufflet, and Snivy exited the Pokémon Center for the practice battlefield while Warren and Charlotte looked on. "He said he doesn't like battling, though. Wonder what's changed in him." Charlotte said curiously.

"I think he's just accepted it. It's weird, that's for sure." Warren said plainly. Niko's actions didn't seem to quite add up. He has been against battling and being a trainer as long as he has known Niko, but all of the sudden he seemed more at ease with it, particularly after training with Snivy. "Maybe it's just Snivy having an effect on him." He finally said.

"That's true. He seems to really care for her." Charlotte commented. She hardly knew Niko, but like Warren she too noticed the seemingly sudden change of heart in her new friend. The upcoming gym battle—that he was almost pressured into trying, she thought—would decide how ephemeral his "change of heart" was to become.

"Alright Rufflet, use fury attack!" Niko commanded. The Eaglet Pokémon dove down towards the ground and slashed and clawed at it with his talons, kicking up dust in his wake and causing him to cough a little. "Maybe let's not do that…come over here." Niko said, grabbing a now angry and flailing Rufflet. "Don't be frustrated, you did just fine."

"What's going on, Niko?" Warren asked as he and Charlotte walked out onto the practice battlefield.

"Rufflet kicked dirt into his face and got angry about it." Niko said, putting the bird down again and watched as he continued to throw a temper tantrum. Niko scratched his head a little. "This'll be an interesting battle, that's for sure."

Charlotte laughed a little. The angry Rufflet was a little frightening, but also fairly comical. "How are you feeling about the gym battle?"

"I guess I feel alright. I don't really know what to expect, though." Niko said. He knew this was a lie—he knew exactly what to expect, with the exception of the type of pokémon he would be facing. What did the Aspertia Gym specialize in? But as far as battling is concerned, he had a general sense of what was to come. "Where _is_ the gym?"

"I looked it up earlier, actually." Warren piped in. "It's located at the Trainer's School. I believe the teacher is the gym leader there."

"Really now…" Niko said. "Guess we'll just have to check that place out, then."

* * *

The following day Charlotte woke up to see Niko sitting on his bed watching Rufflet and Snivy sleep. "Morning." She said groggily. "How're you doing?"

"Fine. I just woke up, too. Waiting for them to get up so we can get ready to head over to the Trainer's School."

"You just want to get this over with, don't you?" She asked directly. Niko turned to her and nodded. "Do you really not like battling?"

"I don't prefer to. And if you were wondering, it's for a few reasons." Niko said, darkening his look a little.

"I see. Well, I get why you're doing it, too. It's for Snivy and Rufflet, isn't it?" When Niko nodded in response, she paused before continued. "And…if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. And I'm sure Warren is too."

"If I wanted to I would have already." Niko replied.

 _So he hasn't really changed his tune. Is it all a façade, then?_ Charlotte thought to herself. "Either way, I hope you win."

Niko turned back to look at her, a slight smile etched on his face. "Thanks, Charlotte." He then turned to see Warren slowly stir, eventually opening his eye a minute later. "Morning."

"M…morning…" He said sleepily. "Oh…Niko…did you win yet…?"

"Uh…no?" Niko replied, raising an eyebrow at the odd statement. "Did you have a dream about my gym battle?"

"Must…have…" Warren sat up and looked around at his two human companions. Poliwag and sewaddle were in the midst of waking up as well. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Niko said curtly. Warren shook his head when Niko wasn't looked. He wasn't too happy with Niko's close-mindedness around this. _Why is he so stubborn?_

Finding the Trainer's School wasn't terribly difficult. It was the only school in the city, and was larger than Niko imagined it would be. He hesitated upon entering, only doing so when Warren lightly pushed him forward. "Go on, don't be nervous!"

"I'm not nervous about the battle! It's just…it's weird being back at a school…" Niko said.

"Oh…yeah, that makes sense." Warren said with a laugh. "Alright then, let's go!" He said, raising a fist into the air and leading the trio forward.

The inside of the school was just as Niko expected—there were two hallways then went in the left and right directions, with a stairwell in the middle leading to a second floor. Down the halls were several doors that presumably had classrooms on the other end. In between the doors were sets of lockers for the students.

"Looks just like the school I went to in Pallet Town…only bigger." Niko said, looking around. "Where do we go?"

"We could just walk around until we find someone who can help us out…" Warren suggested.

"That's kind of weird, Warren." Charlotte replied.

"She's right. We can't just wander around." Niko said, turning to his friends. As he did so, a man in a security outfit appeared behind him.

"What are you three doing here?" He asked sternly.

"Oh, hello. My name's Niko, and I'm here to challenge the gym leader. We were told that they're here."

"Correct. Cheren should be teaching right now, let me go find him." The guard said, turning and walking down the left hallway. Minutes later, he reappeared with a tall, black-haired man in a white dress shirt, blue slacks, and an orange tie walk alongside him. "Cheren, this young man wants to challenge you."

"Ah, hello." He said in a professorial, but friendly, tone. "As security said, I'm Cheren, and I lead the Aspertia Gym. You caught me at the perfect time, actually. I was just beginning a lesson on the normal type—my specialty—when I heard of you. This would be a perfect opportunity for them to observe firsthand the power of normal type pokémon. I accept your challenge, but on the condition that my students get to watch."

Niko turned to his friends, both of whom nodded. He then turned and confirmed his acceptance. "That works with me." He replied.

"Excellent. Meet me out in the back field. That's where I hold all of my battles." He said before walking back to his classroom. Security then led Niko, Warren, and Charlotte through a door past the stairwell. On the other side was an ordinary battlefield with small stands on each end. Niko looked around at the rather familiar sight, noting that Charlotte and Warren walked with the security guard to the right side, just as his old friends used to.

 _Just focus on the battle. Let Snivy and Rufflet decide this, not you._ Niko thought to himself. He then turned to his left and saw a horde of two dozen children with Cheren leading them. They all sat down in the stands while Cheren stood in front of them to speak.

"Class, today we have an unexpected—and welcome one, at that—lesson. As you all know, I'm also a gym leader, and occasionally I'll host gym battles during my classes. Today is one of those days. We have here a challenger from…where're you from again?"

"Pallet Town in Kanto, but I now live in Castelia City." Niko said plainly.

"Oh, a foreigner. Very nice. Class, please welcome Niko from Pallet Town! Today, he will battle me for the Basic Badge. In this battle, I want you to look out for how I use normal type pokémon. But also watch how Niko battles as well. You can learn a lot from different types of people, pokémon, and battling styles." He then turned to Niko. "Well then, shall we?" He asked politely.

Niko nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

"Excellent. This will be a two-on-two pokémon battle. Are you okay with that?" He asked. When Niko nodded, he smiled. "Good to know. Tomson, if you will please act as referee." The security guard, evidently known as Tomson, nodded as well. "Now then, Niko, prepare to face the full force of the normal type. Patrat, I choose you!" Cheren shouted, summoning a small rodent-like pokémon that looked similar to a chipmunk.

" _Patrat, the Scout Pokémon. Normal type. Extremely cautious, one of them will always be on the lookout, but it won't notice a foe coming from behind_."

"Rufflet, I choose you!" Niko called out, throwing a pokéball high into the air.

"Watch this…" Warren said, leaning over to Charlotte excitedly.

"I am. It's really exciting already. I've never seen a gym battle in person before." She said, holding her hands in her lap. Smeargle sat beside her, as she wanted the Painter Pokémon to watch their friends, too.

"Rufflet, use peck!" Niko commanded. The Eaglet Pokémon dove down towards Patrat, eager to finally be in an official battle.

"Watch this, kids. Patrat, detect!" Cheren ordered. Patrat's eyes began to glow and it evaded not just the first attempt by Rufflet to peck at it, but also successive strikes. "Now, bite!" Cheren commanded, watching at Patrat bit down on Rufflet's left wing and flung it to the side. "And work up!"

A red aura surrounded Patrat and, when Cheren commanded another attack, the Scout Pokémon charged forward, the aura flashing once more. Patrat crashed into Rufflet, who was still trying to get back up. He then smirked. The battle was already in his favor.

"Rufflet, get back into the air!" Niko commanded. He, for whatever reason, always had difficulty with normal type gyms. First in Johto against Whitney, with whom he tied, and again in Hoenn against Norman, to whom he lost. Cheren was much the same. Niko always found that the normal type was unpredictable, and that he never really had anything to effectively counter it.

He thought for a moment as Rufflet hovered in the air, waiting for a command. "Alright Rufflet, use fury attack, but on the ground!" He commanded, knowing that the Eaglet Pokémon wouldn't appreciate this. "Oh, and close your eyes."

"I see what you're doing, Niko. Patrat, work up!" Cheren commanded. The red aura reappeared around the Scout Pokémon. Meanwhile, Rufflet crashed into the ground, thrashing his talons around and kicking up a cloud of dust. Just as Niko had warned, he also closed his eyes. "Now, bite!"

"Rufflet, stay where you are." Niko said calmly as he watched Patrat running blindly into the thin cloud of dust to tackle Rufflet. "Now, fury attack!"

Rufflet slashed his talons freely—and blindly—hitting Patrat. Once the cloud disappeared, Niko told him to open his eyes and use peck. Doing so, Rufflet lunged forward with his beak, striking Patrat in the upper chest and knocking it over.

"Finish Patrat off with fury attack!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. Rufflet did so, knocking the Scout Pokémon down a second time.

"Patrat is unable to battle, Rufflet is the winner!" Tomson declared. "Leader Cheren will send out his second pokémon!"

"Interesting strategy, Niko." Cheren said as he returned Patrat. "Using your environment in a battle is often a critical component of victory. Well done. But you won't find it easy the second time around. Lillipup, I choose you!" Cheren shouted, summoning the little terrier-like pokémon that Niko has seen on occasion in Unova.

" _Lillipup, the Puppy Pokémon._ " Charlotte's pokédex stated. " _Though it is a very brave Pokémon, it's also smart enough to check its foe's strength and avoid battle_."

"Use work up!" The Gym Leader commanded.

"Rufflet, peck!" Niko commanded. Rufflet, feeling more confident from his first victory, charged downwards, aiming to hit the little puppy pokémon, whose red aura began to glow even brighter. Suddenly the Lillipup leapt into the air, crashing into Rufflet and quickly overpowering him, knocking him to the ground and kicking more dust and dirt into the air. "Rufflet, get back up!" Niko shouted.

"Bite!" Cheren called out.

"Fury attack, Rufflet!" The two pokémon charged forward, with Rufflet kicking at Lillipup with his small talons, and the latter attempting to bite them, dodging and weaving around each talon. Eventually, Rufflet managed to kick Lillipup, knocking it to the ground. However, just as he did so, the Puppy Pokémon bit down on to Rufflet's leg and brought the bird down with him.

"Now, tackle!" Cheren commanded. Lillipup quickly got up and charged at Rufflet, knocking the Eaglet Pokémon further across the dirt battlefield. "And finish it off with bite!"

"Rufflet, don't give up!" Niko shouted, but it was too late. Rufflet was defeated.

"Rufflet is unable to battle, Lillipup is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his second pokémon!" Tomson declared.

"Return, Rufflet. You did a great job, buddy. Thanks for the help. Snivy, you're all I've got left. Let's go!" Niko commanded, summoning the Grass Snake Pokémon. "You up for this? It's down to you now."

Snivy turned to Niko and, with a fire in her eyes, nodded. Niko couldn't help but smile. Yet, he was still conflicted. _Whether or not I become a trainer again depends on Snivy. I'll fight until the end with her, but I don't want this to be up to me_. He thought, feeling a little uneasy deep down. In the stands, Warren and Charlotte watched with increase interest, as did their pokémon. Poliwag and Sewaddle began to cheer loudly for their friend Snivy.

"Let's do this, then. Snivy, use tackle!"

"Work up and then tackle again!" Cheren commanded. While Lillipup was waiting for Snivy to approach, it surrounded itself with a red aura. Once Snivy got close enough, Lillipup charged forward as well, the red aura flashing just before the two collided on Cheren's end of the field. Both pokémon were repelled backwards, but it seemed like Snivy took more of the hit. "Work up!"

"Don't let it, Snivy! Attack with vine whip!" Niko shouted. Snivy immediately got back up with little effort, extending green vines from her neck and slapping Lillipup with them.

"Use bite on the vines!" Cheren commanded. Lillipup obeyed, leaping up and grabbing one of the vines as it was about to descend towards the puppy. "And throw Snivy!"

With an unusual amount of strength, the little terrier dog flung Snivy high into the air and, as soon as the Grass snake Pokémon was about to land, charged forward and tackled her, knocking her across the field where she eventually landed to Niko's left.

"Can you keep going?" Niko asked, wondering if this was the end of the battle. Snivy simply nodded, getting back up with seemingly little effort, which surprised Niko. Coming from a pokémon with very little battling experience, the determination to continue was impressive. At this, he smiled. "Alright buddy, let's do this. Snivy, charge forward with tackle!"

"Again? Alright then. Lillipup, use tackle as well!" Cheren shouted. The worked-up Lillipup ran forward with unusual speed. Just as the two got close, Niko shouted for Snivy to leap into the air.

"Wrap Lillipup with vine whip!" Niko shouted while Snivy was in the air. The Grass Snake spun around, running the green vines around Lillipup's body. As Snivy landed, she hurled Lillipup over her head, throwing the Puppy Pokémon straight across the field, nearly hitting Cheren.

Snivy quickly fell to one knee, exhausted. Niko figured that this move must have taken more strength than the tiny grass type had ever exerted before. They—along with all of the students, Warren, and Charlotte—watched Lillipup as the terrier dog got up and limped back onto the field. It looked up at Snivy before collapsing onto the ground in defeat.

"Lillipup is unable to battle, Snivy is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Tomson declared.

The students erupted into applause while Niko stared dumbfoundedly in no particular direction. Before he realized it, Snivy was tugging at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw Snivy standing there, holding her arms out. Niko picked her up and embraced the Grass Snake.

"I'm very proud of you, Snivy." He said quietly.

"I knew you could do it!" Warren said as he slapped Niko's back.

"Well done, Niko." Charlotte said with a warm smile. Niko turned to both of them and nodded.

"Thanks, it was all Snivy and Rufflet, though." He tried to admit.

"Well, Rufflet wouldn't have thought of using a dust cloud to win against Patrat, and Snivy wouldn't have thought of _throwing_ Lillipup clear across the field!" Warren protested. "That was _you_ , Niko!"

Before he could continue the argument, Niko saw Cheren—with his students behind him—approach. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long golden badge. It was shaped like the purple spine of a book.

"Niko, on behalf of Aspertia City, the Trainer's School, and the Unova League, I present to you the Basic Badge, as proof of your victory today." He placed the badge in Niko's palm before continuing. "You've given my students an excellent lesson in Pokémon battling today, particularly with your use of the environment to your advantage. I hope that, wherever you go next, you continue to improve as a trainer." He said before shaking Niko's hand.

"Thanks, Cheren. I appreciate it." He turned to Snivy, holding the badge up to her. Snivy simply nodded with a smile, appreciating their victory as much as she believed her trainer did.

* * *

Aspertia City has a lookout point where visitors—and residents—can view the expanse of the Unova Region. In the aftermath of his victory at the gym, Niko went to this lookout point to reflect on the previous battle.

 _The last thing I ever wanted to do was become a Pokémon trainer again. My life was going on, I was in a new region, a new city, with new friends and a job. I felt like a new person, completely separated from who I was on Battle Island. I believed—and still do—that the best way for me to cope was to abandon everything. I had hoped that I could forget my failures, forget the past, and move on._

 _But that didn't happen today. I was brought back into the world I had so easily left. The one that I felt pushed me away, even without knowing it._

 _I don't like the idea of being a Pokémon trainer anymore, but it is hard to admit, even in my own mind, that I didn't play a substantial role in winning the Basic Badge. It was a joint victory between me, Snivy, and Rufflet._ We _won this together. That is the upside._

 _The downside is that I feel pressured to commit to this once more. That means I have to commit to the idea of losing again. I have to accept my past and continue moving on the path I had set myself on two years ago, after the Silver Conference._

 _To be a Pokémon Master, whatever that means._

Niko thought all of this as he looked at the landscape beyond, seeing rolling hills with ponds, large and small, covering their tops. In the far-off distance, he saw mountains expanding out of the Earth. He even noticed an airplane gliding above them, possibly taking people on journeys of their own.

"Hey."

Niko turned around to see Charlotte standing there alone. He nodded, indicating to her that she could proceed forward. She stood next to him, looking out onto the expanse, equally in awe.

"It's a nice view. I can see why this is so popular here." Niko only nodded. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good."

"You seem deep in thought."

"That's because I am." Niko replied.

"About the reasons why you don't want to battle? Or become a trainer?"

"Yes."

"How is that going?"

"Better."

"Do you want to continue challenging gyms? Because there's one on the way to Castelia City, in Virbank City."

"I think so. If not for me, then for Snivy and Rufflet. They really seemed in their element against Cheren."

"That's because they were." Charlotte said. She then locked eyes with Niko and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did well back there. You should be happy with yourself."

Niko looked away and then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's head back to the Pokémon Center and plan our trip to Virbank City."

"Got it."

* * *

 **Author's Note: The battle here went way better than I expected, to be honest. Also, if it seems like Niko's feelings are confusing, then that's how it's supposed to be. I wanted to express that confusion through Charlotte and Warren, who seemed confused at the start of the episode about Niko's stubbornness towards battling.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed!**


	8. On the road again

**Episode 8: On the road again**

The trip to Virbank City—where Niko would once again take on a Unova gym—would take several days, and ran through Floccessy Town. After spending some time relaxing, Niko and his friends went to a store in Aspertia City to grab supplies for their journey.

"I'm so excited, Niko." Charlotte confessed as they scoured the aisles for supplies they might need. "I haven't been in the countryside in a long time."

"Never went camping as a kid?" Niko inquired, finding carrot juice for Snivy. He was still unsure of what Rufflet liked, and so found a random drink for the Eaglet Pokémon.

"Nope, not really. I've driven through it before, but we never out of a city for long."

"Well, it's certainly fun, but there is an element of caution to it." Niko said without making eye contact with Charlotte. He had never had to find the supplies and food before—that was usually delegated to JJ and Brittany—and so it took him longer than he had imagined. When Charlotte asked what he meant, Niko smirked. "Wild creatures everywhere, Charlotte!"

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my?" She said, laughing a little. Niko nodded affirmatively.

"No, but seriously. It isn't too bad. Gives you a lot of time to think and reflect. Time to train your Pokémon. That sort of stuff. You really get to know the people you're travelling with."

"Well, that's a good thing, right? I don't really know you that well."

"And I you." Niko said. "Alright, I think that's everything. Where's Warren?" Niko asked, looking up and searching for their third companion. As it turned out, he was off with poliwag and sewaddle, looking at candy. "Didn't peg Warren as having a sweet tooth…" Niko muttered as he and Charlotte joined him.

"Got everything?" Warren asked upon their approach.

"Yep!" Niko held up a bag of food and other things. "Do we need anything else before we go?" When Warren and Charlotte jointly shook their heads, the trio began their journey to Virbank City.

Upon leaving Aspertia City, Niko wasn't quite sure how to feel. As usual, he was reluctant to continue travelling, but he felt that hesitancy slowly leaving him. He was happy that his Pokémon were happy, and he was happy that his friends were happy, even if he wasn't. His conversation with Charlotte certainly helped.

The path to Floccessy Town ran through route 19, which rested on the edge of a mountain range that gradually led into a valley on the outskirts of Aspertia City. Niko appreciated the cool, fresh air lightly bumping against his face as he and his friends walked through the valley. Charlotte continued to look around at the world around her in awe, watching pigeons and other birds flying through the air; Patrats running through the grass, either to flee the trio of travelers or to chase one another; the occasionally sewaddle hanging in a tree observing the world around it.

They eventually settled down at sunset on the edge of the mountain range after a few hours of travelling. Creating a fire was harder than it should have been until Warren remembered he had a lighter, which made the whole process a little easier. After lighting a small campfire, the trio sat around and ate while making light conversation with one another.

"So…Charlotte…" Warren began. "How old are you? I mean…if that's an alright question to ask."

"Oh, it is!" Charlotte replied politely. "I'm 23. What about you two?"

"I'm 22." Warren said. "Almost 23." They both then turned to Niko, who was silent the entire time.

"I'm 21." Niko said, which surprised him. He was 17 when he began his journey. How time was flying…

"Wow, you're young." Charlotte said with a wink.

"Only two years young than you!" Niko replied. "I'm not that young."

"No, you're not." She said. "I thought it was funny, though. You came off as older." She said with a bright smile. When Niko looked at her bemusedly, she elaborated. "You just seemed put together. Like, you knew what you were doing and where you were going."

"I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going, though." Niko said, raising an eyebrow.

"It was just a sense I got. That's all." She said before continuing to eat. Niko turned to look at Snivy and Rufflet, who were peacefully eating. They hadn't gotten a chance to train that day. Hopefully the following day they would.

"This place is really nice looking." Warren said, looking up at the night sky, which was littered with stars glimmering across the dark sky. "I mean, it's cool how the valley just turns into a mountain range."

"How much longer until we get to Floccessy Town?" Charlotte asked. "And I agree—this is a lovely sight."

"I think we'll reach it tomorrow in the evening." Niko said. "At least, that's what it looked like." He pulled out a map of Unova that he found in the Aspertia City Pokémon Center. "Yep, probably another day."

"How do you determine that?" Charlotte asked. Niko looked up at her with astonishment. He wasn't quite sure _how_ he determined it. Usually it was JJ who did, and Niko never knew how he figured it out. But generally speaking, he was correct most of the time.

"Err…it's just a good guess, I suppose. I'm not quite sure myself."

"Hmm. Okay, I was just curious." She said absentmindedly. "It seemed out of place to me, that's all."

Niko nodded, put his map away, and laid down on the grass behind him. Eventually, both Warren and Charlotte went to bed alongside their Pokémon. Niko watched as Rufflet perched himself on a branch in a nearby tree to rest, while Snivy laid next to him. He was tired, not just physically, but also of thinking about the past. It had gotten to the point where it exhausted him just thinking about his life before coming to Castelia City.

But it was hard not to. That was his _life_. All of those times, those years, that he spent running around the world, collecting gym badges and meeting new friends, foes, and Pokémon. It was difficult to abandon those thoughts now, especially since he was back on the road again. Slapping his head lightly, he tried to forget it momentarily, but he couldn't. It was a few hours before he actually fell asleep.

The following day, the group continued on. Niko looked—and felt—tired due to the lack of sleep he got the night before, which briefly made Charlotte and Warren wonder what caused it. Most of the day was spent with them walking along the mountain range on route 19. It wasn't terribly steep, unlike most of the other mountain ranges that he had travelled before. At one point, Charlotte nearly slipped, but was caught by Warren quickly grabbing her wrist.

"Thanks." She said politely as Warren pulled her back.

They stopped around midday to rest in a clearing far away from the edge of the mountains. Niko took the opportunity to train with Snivy and Rufflet. The Grass Snake Pokémon worked on the evasion technique Niko taught her, while with Rufflet Niko wanted to focus purely on speed, as he usually did with the bird Pokémon that he caught. The Eaglet Pokémon didn't seem to enjoy this, and quickly crashed into the ground, using fury attack on the grass in a way that looked like it was having a temper tantrum.

"Rufflet, calm down." Niko said, trying to take hold of the little bird. "This is how you get stronger. It's not just all about attacking. To do well in a battle, you need to be faster than your opponent, or have better defenses. You're more suited to speed, not defense." He said calmly. Rufflet turned to him, looked him in the eye, and then made an attempt to peck him in the face. Fortunately for Niko, his reflexes were just fast enough for him to evade the peck. He let go of Rufflet and stood back up. "Alright, fine then. Do what you want, then."

Rufflet scowled at his trainer and took flight again, using the opportunity to practice dive-bombing into a fury attack of peck. Niko sighed, turning to Snivy, who was carefully jumping left and right, dodging imaginary attacks. This cheered him up; seeing at least one of his Pokémon caring about getting better.

Meanwhile, Warren and Charlotte watched with interest. They didn't hear Niko trying to calm Rufflet down, but they saw that he said something to the Eaglet Pokémon. Eventually, Warren got up and approached his friend.

"How's Rufflet doing?" He asked.

"Fine, I suppose. He's just stubborn."

"Sort of like his trainer." Warren said with a slap to the back.

"What? I'm not stubborn!" Niko protested, which elicited a hearty laugh from his roommate.

"You can be sometimes, just like Rufflet." Warren said with a smirk. They both turned to Charlotte, who nodded absentmindedly. Smeargle was sitting by her side, pretending to paint in the air with its tail.

Niko then turned to Snivy and worked with her on her vine whip release. After practicing that for half of an hour, they went down to rest, watching Rufflet continue to fly around, attacking the air randomly. He shook his head, both amused and concerned. Snivy, on the other hand, ate her carrots ravenously, as she hadn't eaten much that day in addition to being tired from the training.

After finishing eating, the trio returned their Pokémon and continued on towards Floccessy Town. During that time they continued to make idle conversation. Warren and Charlotte talked extensively about their individual times at Castelia University while Niko quietly listened and occasionally piped in. However, he had difficulty doing so, as he never went to a university. His father had…but he went on a journey through Kanto instead.

He then thought of his father. Would he approve of what Niko did? Would he understand Niko having to leave their family? He thought not, but tried to convince himself otherwise, and didn't make him feel any better.

The trio made it to Floccessy Town around sunset. It was small community of people with few houses and other sorts of buildings. A large, beaten-down clock tower was located in the center of the town. It had a purple roof and a bell hanging directly under it. It rang just as the trio entered the town, emitting a loud, rhythmic tone that likely indicated the start of another hour.

They proceeded to the Pokémon Center to heal up their exhausted Pokémon and rest themselves. As he sat in a booth, Warren slouched into the seat and let out a breath of exhausted air. "What a day." He finally said. "Niko, I think this was the most exhausting day of our journey."

"It was also the only day." He replied.

"No, I mean including the one we took to Nuvema Town."

"Oh, right. That's probably because the land there was relatively flat. We didn't have to walk up a mountain, or large hills." Niko explained. He then turned to Charlotte. "What did you think?"

Charlotte perked up, not expecting to be including in the conversation. "I thought it was great. I'm tired, that's for sure, but I enjoyed it!" She smiled politely, looking back down at her dinner. The trio continued to talk—mainly Niko and Warren this time—before the three of them retired for the evening. Unlike the previous night, Niko fell asleep more easily.

This time, he awoke in the middle of the night from a dream involving his family. He saw his mother, Jake, and his friends all scowling at him, haranguing him for leaving them in their time of need. He tried to defend himself in the dream, protesting that he needed some time alone, but it didn't help his case. They wouldn't listen, and continued to shout and yell at him while his mother sat in the background, looking hurt…

He woke up in a cold sweat, looking around at Warren and Charlotte, both of whom were still asleep. The sun was rising outside of his window, peering in through the blinds of the room. Instead of trying to go back to bed, Niko got out of bed, got dressed, and left their room for the lobby. Only a half-asleep Snivy noticed him leave.

Niko took a walk through Floccessy Town, ultimately walking the full circumference of the town in a mere half-hour. Along the way, he saw a battlefield unlike the one at the Pokémon Center. This was one positioned outside of an old-style wooden house resting at the top of a short hill. At the top—near the entrance—stood a man of average height and long, fiery red and orange hair. He wore a loose tunic that hung loosely over his shoulders, with white pants cut third-quarters of the way down his leg. Lastly, and most noticeably, he wore six pokéballs around his neck.

Niko stopped to look at him, sensing the power emanating from him. This person—whoever he was—was a strong trainer. Just as he turned to continue back to the Pokémon Center, the man turned to see him, glaring down at Niko from the top of the hill.

When Niko returned to the Pokémon Center, he found Warren and Charlotte sitting at a booth eating. As he sat down, the other two turned to him with curious looks. "What?" He asked.

"Did you have trouble sleeping again?" Charlotte asked.

"Again? I—no. I just woke up early and figured a walk would help me start the day. I went around the town. It's small, but quaint."

"You had trouble sleeping a couple nights ago, too." Warren added. Niko just shook his head.

"No, it was just an issue of waking up too early. No big deal!" He said. "I did see this trainer on the way. There's another battlefield nearby here, and some guy—I think he was a trainer, at least—was standing outside, just staring off into the distance."

"Really now?" Charlotte asked. When Niko responded, she wanted to ask more questions, but decided that her friend probably didn't know the answers to any of them, and kept quiet. "Oh…how long will it take to get to Virbank City?"

"Possibly…a couple days?" Niko said, a little unsure of his answer. "It isn't too far from here, though." He looked up to see some sort of reaction from Charlotte, only to see a cordial smile etched on her face.

"Well, then let's get going!" Warren said, standing out of the booth. He looked down at poliwag and sewaddle, both of whom stared up at him with determination. "To Virbank City!"

"Poli!"

"Waddle!"

Niko and Charlotte also got out of the booth and, after Niko grabbed his bags, they left the Pokémon Center. However, as they did so, Niko noticed the fiery-haired man approaching them.

"Excuse me." He said kindly. Niko and Charlotte moved out of the way to allow the man to walk past them. As he disappeared into the lobby of the Pokémon Center, the two friends exchanged glances.

"Niko…is that the person you saw earlier?" Charlotte said with awe.

"Yeah…why?"

"Well…that's the former Champion of the Unova League—Alder." She said, still in shock.


	9. Invasion at the ranch!

**Episode 9: Invasion at the ranch!**

"Alder?" Warren asked as the trio stood outside of the Pokémon Center, watching the man with fiery red and orange hair enter the lobby on the other side of the sliding double doors.

"Yeah. You've heard of him, right?" Charlotte asked. Warren nodded, looking a little stunned by it. "He's a famous trainer around here. I had no idea he lived in Floccessy Town."

"He was the guy I saw earlier…wow." Niko said. He had met his fair share of League Champions. Alder seemed to be the most…eccentric-looking of them all. "Well, that's cool. Let's get going." He said, spinning on his foot to start their journey to Virbank City. He then felt a hand grip his shoulder. Turning, he saw Warren with a smirk on his face. "Oh…no…no no no…"

Warren then burst into the Pokémon Center, with Charlotte following far behind. Niko simply stood there, head hanging down when his friends returned with Alder.

"Alder, this is our friend, Niko. He's challenging the gyms in Unova." Warren said. Niko looked up to see the former champion with a hand out.

"Pleasure to meet ya, Niko!" Alder said. He had a hearty, somewhat raspy voice. "Your friends speak highly of you. How many badges do you have?"

"Only one. And…pleasure to meet you as well." Niko said, shaking his hand. "I'm heading to Virbank City for my second."

"Ah...Virbank City. The gym leader there is…an excitable one, to be sure. But best of luck!" He then paused, as if suddenly deep in thought. "Your friends want me to challenge you, but I'm afraid you're not experienced enough if you only have a single badge, but I do have something that you all can help me with." He turned to Warren and Charlotte.

"What is it?" Niko asked.

"There is a ranch to the north of Floccessy Town, appropriated called Floccessy Ranch. The owners there are, without a doubt, the nicest human beings I've ever met. But they're having problems with an…infestation recently, and they looked to me for assistance. But I can't seem to do it all alone."

"You can't?" Warren asked. "But you're the _Champion_!"

"Former Champion." Alder corrected. "Anyway, if you three could help me out, it would be much appreciated."

"Well, sure." Niko said. "We'd be happy to help out. Just tell us what we need to do."

"Of course. Follow me, then." Alder said, walking past Niko and towards the hill that is presumably his home. The trio followed him up the road, past his house, and out of Floccessy Town. While they were walking, Warren took it upon himself to ask questions of Alder.

"So Alder, if it's okay to ask, why are you no longer Champion?" Warren asked. Alder turned and smiled warmly at him. They were roughly the same height, with Alder being slightly shorter.

"I retired, actually. Usually champions leave their post when they're defeated, but I was finished with the job. I prefer retirement, as many people do, and at my age, with my career, it made the most sense for me to step down and allow someone else to take my place."

"Wow, that's cool. How long have you been retired?" Warren asked. "And what do you do with that time?"

"Several years now. And in my time, I travel the region—and the world—seeing and experiencing new things. I keep training with my Pokémon, and spend time with my grandson, Benga. You'd like him, I think. He's a trainer like yourselves, and quite a capable one at that. He's on his own journey through Unova currently, but he comes back to visit when he can."

"Sounds like retirement is great!" Warren said excitedly.

"It is, but people hardly remember you for what you do in retirement. To have any legacy, it's what one does in their career that matters. I'm of the belief that everyone—regardless of who they are—should live life hoping to leave something of significance behind. Doesn't have to be a big thing—it could be small. I know that when I eventually kick the bucket, I will be remembered for how I lived my life and how I impacted the world around me."

"That's a good way of looking at it." Niko finally said. He had never considered living life from that perspective. It wasn't exactly carefree, but it had a somewhat carefree tone to it. From how Niko understood it, Alder was saying that one should give back in some way—help their fellow person and Pokémon. It made him feel a little better, but also slightly worried. Worried that he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, or how he wanted to shape his legacy. Was this something he had to determine as soon as possible?

The group eventually made it to a vast expanse of land that was surrounded by forests off in the distance. "Here we are—Floccessy Ranch!" Alder said, throwing his hands out. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to the owners of the ranch."

They approached a small cottage near the entrance. Through the screen door was an elderly woman sitting in a couch, presumably watching television. As Alder walked up to the door, he tapped the side of the door to get her attention.

"Alder! Oh, hello!" She said in a quaint, kind tone. "How are you today?"

"Elle, always a pleasure. And I'm here on ranch business, actually. Travon told me you had some problems?"

"Yes, there's an infestation of—err—bug type Pokémon that we can't seem to deal with. Ellie is out of town and our mareep are simply not strong enough to take them on. So we figured we could send for you if you were in town. And…oh?" She looked behind Alder to see the young trio of trainers behind him. "Who are these youngsters?"

"Elle, allow me to introduce you to Niko, Warren, and Charlotte. They're travelling the Unova region currently, and Niko is taking on the gym challenge. I figured they could help you out as well."

"Oh, well thank you! Any help is good help. Travon is out in the fields right now, he can show you where we need the help."

Alder nodded in thanks and walked back onto the porch and down the few steps. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to Travon. He's a wonderful old man." Alder said, motioning for the group to follow. The trio followed along down the dirt road, past fields upon fields of Pokémon, running around or sleeping or playing with one another. Niko recognized the mareep in one of the fields and thought of Fay, who had once owned a mareep.

They had eventually made it to the edge of the ranch, nearly a mile down the road, when Alder began waving into the distance. Another waving hand responded, originating from an elderly-looking man who stood up from whatever he was working on to come over and greet the former Champion and his temporary companions.

"Travon! It's been a while. How are you?" Alder asked, walking up to greet his obviously familiar acquaintance.

"Alder, my favorite champion!" The man named Travon said, bringing Alder into a brief embrace. "You're correct—it's been some time. As you very well know, I need some help." He turned to the forest beyond the ranch. "We've recently had problems with Patrats and Sewaddles infesting our crops. For whatever reason, hordes of them have been making their way through, and I can't seem to fend them off."

"Are they around right now?" Niko asked, looking around for any sign of a large group of Pokémon scurrying around the ranch.

"At the moment, no. But they tend to show up at around the same time—just before sunset. Guess that's when they're hungry."

"And you haven't been able to deal with them so far?" Alder asked. Travon shook his head. "Is there a specific place they like to show up?"

"Over there," Travon said, pointing to the group's right. "But they've decimated the crops around there. They might try to show up in that direction instead." He pointed to the left.

"We could split up." Charlotte suggested.

"Good idea. You can come with me, and Niko and Warren could take the other side." Alder suggested. "Sound good?"

"Yeah." Niko replied, turning to Warren. "Let's head out, then."

* * *

Niko and Warren sat on the fence near the easternmost edge of the ranch, waiting for the Pokémon to show up. During the slow, agonizing wait, the two sent out their Pokémon and explained the situation. Rufflet seemed the most excited to fight, as expected. They also tried discussing strategy. Since each of them had two Pokémon, they figured they would both take one half of the horde.

The entire time, Niko was thinking about Warren's constant insistence that he continue battling and trying to get stronger with his Pokémon. More than anyone in his life, he was trying harder to make Niko's former dream—becoming a Pokémon Master—a reality. The ironic part was that he had no idea he was doing it, either. He found himself constantly surprised by Warren's optimism more generally. As long as Niko has known him, Warren has usually kept a positive demeanor. Of course, like all people he had moments where he felt sad or down, but for the most part he was a happy person, and Niko didn't feel like he appreciated it enough.

"Hey, Warren." Niko finally asked.

"Yeah?" Warren said, turning to his roommate. "What's up?"

"How are you always so positive, or so optimistic?" Niko asked, looking out into the forest from his perch on the fence.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're always acting in an optimistic way—telling me to keep trying to battle, always believing in me or Sydney. How do you keep it up?"

"Heh. Well." Warren said, laughing. "I've just tried to see the best in people, I guess. I try to push out negative thoughts unless they are truly hateful or go against my moral values. It makes it easier to deal with problems when you just try to see the good in others." He paused for a moment, looking down at Sewaddle, who was napping.

As he was about to speak, the two boys heard rustling off in the forest. Niko leapt off of his perch on the fence. Snivy and Rufflet were already awake and ready to fight; Warren, Sewaddle, and Poliwag ready as well. Then a horde of Patrat leapt out of the bushes, dozens at a time.

"Poliwag, hypnosis! Sewaddle, razor leaf!" Warren commanded. It was clear to them that the Patrat weren't necessarily expecting a fight, but they quickly seemed to overwhelm the four Pokémon. While Warren's Pokémon launched attack after attack, Niko's Pokémon were doing the same, with Rufflet smacking and thrashing at the Scout Pokémon relentlessly. Snivy was off whipping Patrats left and right.

"Warren, look out!" Niko said, watching as a trio of Patrat took aim at his roommate. Warren tried to shift out of the way, but the Patrat tackled him to the ground. Just as they were about to bite down on him, a torrent of leaves simultaneously hit each one of them, launching them through the wooden fence demarcating the ranch. The Patrat collapsed onto the ground. Warren turned to see Sewaddle standing there, looking almost furious.

"Great job, Sewaddle!" Warren said before noticing Poliwag was having a difficult time as well. "I'm fine now, can you assist Poliwag?"

Sewaddle nodded, turning and shooting out a string shot to wrap several Patrat together and fling them into their comrades, knocking out several at the same time. Poliwag, who was knocked down from a flurry of attacks, got back up and turned to Sewaddle happily before shooting out a water gun at a nearby Patrat.

Just then, Sewaddle began to glow a bright white color, illuminating the area around her. She began to grow outwards, not necessarily upwards. Instead of being a small, caterpillar-like Pokémon, she was now round and yellow and was shrouded in a cloak of leaves. The leaves were draped around her body so that a large, crescent-shaped slit remained for her face. On the top of the leaf cloak were two semi-circular leaves that formed a V-shape. Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the Pokémon, but not before commanding Rufflet and Snivy to take advantage of the Patrat's temporary wonder and attack.

" _Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon. Bug and grass type. Preferring dark, damp places, it spends the entire day eating fallen leaves that lie around it_."

"Swadloon…wow." Warren said in amazement. "I've never seen a Pokémon evolve in person. This is great!" He exclaimed. "Now Swadloon, let's beat these Patrat away! Use razor leaf!"

"SWAAAAAD!" Swadloon shouted, opening her leaf cloak to summon a torrent of leaves. "LOOOOON!"

The Patrat were knocked backwards by the razor leaf and, cut up and defeated, turned away and ran off, dozen-by-dozen. When they all disappeared, Warren and Niko turned to one another and simply smiled.

* * *

"So they just disappeared?" Travon asked Niko and Warren when they returned.

"Yep. I think we scared them off. Oh! And check this out." He said, summoning Swadloon. "My Sewaddle evolved!"

Charlotte made an "o" with her mouth in surprise. "I've never seen one of these before. Hello, Swadloon!"

"Swad!" Swadloon said happily.

"How did you two manage?" Niko asked curiously.

"Well, to be honest Alder did most of the work. His Pokémon are strong!" Charlotte said in amazement. "You'd have appreciated it I think, Niko."

"Well, maybe one day I can see them in action." Niko said, turning to Warren, and then to the former Champion. "Thanks for allowing us to help." He reached his hand out to Alder.

"Thanks for agreeing to help!" He said with a hearty, slightly raspy laugh. "It's trainers like you three that give me hope for the future. Niko…best of luck in your gym challenge. It's going to get harder from here on out, but you're quite capable of going far if you believe that you can."

"Do you three need a place to stay for the night?" Travon asked. "As a way of expressing mine and Elle's thanks. You really saved our ranch."

"Sure!" Warren said before Niko could answer. Charlotte nodded as well. Travon and Elle then showed them around their cottage, eventually reaching the place for them to sleep. Meanwhile, Niko noticed Alder conspicuously exit the cottage—and then the ranch—and into the night. He gave the door a bemused look before turning back to his friends. It had certainly been an odd day.


	10. Lights, Camera, Pokémon!

**Episode 10: Lights, Camera, Pokémon!**

The morning after helping drive away a horde of Patrat from the Floccessy Ranch, Niko and his friends continued their journey towards Virbank City. There, Niko would challenge the gym leader for his second Unova gym badge. The road to Virbank City ran through route 20, and would take roughly a couple of days to traverse. Unlike route 19, it was relatively flat and lacking in forestry, but still littered with trees scattered around in groups.

During the couple of days on route 20, Niko spent some time training with Snivy and Rufflet. He didn't know what type of Pokémon the Virbank gym would specialize in, and so he tried to focus on what he was already doing—evasion, speed, and skill. As usual, Snivy was quite calm with her training, rarely needing any sort of intervention on Niko's part. Rufflet, on the other hand, was more of a pain to deal with. Whenever Niko wanted the Eaglet Pokémon to do something—anything—Rufflet would throw a temper tantrum and use fury attack on the ground, thrashing and kicking around aimlessly.

Also along the way Niko, Charlotte, and Warren all got to know each other a little better. Charlotte and Warren continued to share stories of their times at Castelia University, particularly some of the classes they took. During these discussions Niko walked behind them, holding Snivy in his arms as they looked around at the world surrounding them.

Two days after leaving Floccessy Ranch, the trio made it to Virbank City. As Charlotte mentioned when they left Aspertia City, Virbank was a port city with regular trips to and from Castelia City. However, when they got there they noticed that the city was layered in a thin coat of fog. As usual, the first place they decided to head to was the Pokémon Center.

"So Niko…" Warren began as they sat down, waiting for their Pokémon to come back healed up. "When do you want to go find the gym around here? Do you feel ready?"

"Err…I guess I feel ready." Niko said, shrugging. Truth be told, he didn't feel ready, as he was only confident in Snivy's ability to listen to him. Based on their training sessions, he was losing confidence in Rufflet, and was worried about a potential temper tantrum on the Eaglet's part during an official battle.

"What's holding you back?" Warren asked.

"Rufflet. I'm worried he won't listen to me during the battle." Niko admitted.

"I think you have nothing to be concerned about!" Warren said. "Rufflet listened to you against Cheren, right?" Niko nodded. "Well, then he should this time! I think Rufflet's problem is that he doesn't like doing anything that _isn't_ fighting, you understand?"

Niko nodded, but it didn't help. He had experience with Pokémon not listening to him. He recognized the signs. "Anyway, do either of you know of things to do in this city? I'd rather not just come here for a gym battle. This is an adventure, not just about me."

"Oh!" Charlotte, who had been silent since arriving at the Pokémon Center. "There's this great ice cream place called Bearticone. Well, it's supposedly great. And then there's Pokéstar Studios. Have you ever heard of it?"

"It's a film studio, right?" Warren asked. "Yeah, I think I've seen some of their movies. I think my favorite is…Brycen-Man."

"Brycen-Man?" Charlotte asked, as if curious. "It's alright, I think. The plot is lacking…it's more of just an action movie. I like Full Metal Cop and Timegate Traveler, personally." She then looked at Niko, who was giving them both a bemused look. "Oh! You've never heard of Pokéstar Studios, have you?"

"Nope. I mean, I guess maybe I've seen some of their movies, but there's nothing like that in Kanto."

"You mean you don't have a film studio in Kanto?"

"Well, we might. I just don't know where they're based." Niko replied. He's seen a fair number of movies in his life, but during the past four years when he was on the road with his friends he hardly saw movies.

"Would you like to go check it out, then? We could get ice cream first!" She said.

"Sure, why not?" Niko said. Warren agreed, and the trio got up, fetched their Pokémon from Nurse Joy, and went off in search of their first destination—Bearticone.

* * *

"Have you ever had ice cream, Snivy?" Niko asked. The Grass Snake Pokémon looked up at him, and then at the ice cream in the shop, and shook her head. "Alright, we can get one for you and Rufflet. Charlotte says they're really good." He said, getting something for Snivy to share with her teammate while he got something for himself. Warren and Charlotte each got something for them and their Pokémon, and soon enough the group was sitting outside of the Bearticone shop watching people walk by.

"I've always enjoyed people-watching." Niko said as he watched Snivy and Rufflet enjoy the strawberry ice cream he got for them. "It sounds weird, but I like it."

"I hear you. Castelia City is good for that." Charlotte replied, handing Smeargle her ice cream. "This city, though, is…a little weird." She said as she saw a trio of young adults with wild hair colors and shapes walking by. She deduced that they were in a band, judging by one of them having a guitar case slung around the shoulder of the shortest one. Upon hearing Charlotte's comment, she turned to glare at the short brunette.

"Hey, don't go dissing my people, doofus!" She said.

"Sorry…" Charlotte said, slightly terrified by the woman. She was short with white, spiky hair. Some of it was tied up in a vertical bun. She wore a purple and light blue-striped long sleeve. The colors reminded Niko of the sweater Lauren always wore, only the colors on this woman's top were paler.

"No, you're not. If you're going to keep talking crap about this city, then freakin' LEAVE!" She shouted.

"Roxie, calm down chick…" One of the band members said. "She didn't mean for you to hear it." Roxie nodded, and then walked away, leaving Charlotte stunned.

"Well then…" Warren said.

"You alright, Charlotte?" Niko asked.

"I'm fine. That was…scary, though." She said, hurriedly finishing her ice cream, presumably as a way to calm herself down. "I don't like it when people yell at me." She then stood up. "C'mon, let's go check out Pokéstar Studios."

Niko, Warren, and their Pokémon nodded, all standing up and following Charlotte through the city. "Do you know where you're going?" Niko asked, leaning over Charlotte's shoulder to a map she was holding of Virbank City.

"Yep! Doesn't seem like it's too far from here, actually. Just to the north, I think." She said, looking up as they reached a T-intersection. On the opposite side of the street was a massive gate with "Pokéstar Studios" Written in an archlike form. "Looks like it! Let's go!"

Walking into Pokéstar Studios was almost like walking into a theme park. There were large sets everywhere, with people jumping or running around with Pokémon. Niko deduced that they were all in the process of filming or practicing a scene. To their right was a collection of trailers that actors and Pokémon were constantly walking in and out of.

"So what are we going to do here?" Niko asked, watching a tall man with light blue hair walking out of his trailer in a ridiculous costume.

"Oh! That's Brycen-Man!" Warren said, pointing over to the light blue-haired man. "Wow…he looks even taller in person!"

"To answer your question, Niko, we could go see if we can get a tour or something." Charlotte replied, looking around for any sign of a tourist center. While she was looking around, Warren was off to meet Brycen-Man, dragging Niko along."

"Brycen-Man! I'm Warren, and I'm a huge fan of your movies!" Warren said, approaching the movie star and attempting to shake his hand.

"Oh, hello there. Glad you enjoy. I'm actually on my way to begin filming Brycen-Man Strikes Back 2."

"Is it true that you used to be a gym leader, too?" Warren asked, and Niko immediately understood what he was getting at.

"Yes, I used to run the gym in Icirrus City. I ended up deciding that being an actor was my true passion, but I still enjoy the occasional battle."

"Will you battle my friend, Niko?" Warren asked. "He's challenging the gyms here, and he would like the practice!"

Interested, Brycen turned to Niko, who vigorously shook his head. "No no, I've only got one gym badge."

"Ah, yes. Maybe we should postpone a potential battle. Plus, I'm afraid I don't quite have the time right now. We're on a tight schedule to start and finish Brycen-Man Strikes Back 2. And unfortunately, I have other engagements in the future. If we ever meet again, remind me of this challenge, and I will accept then." He shook Niko's hand. "Best of luck in the gym challenge. Especially against the leader here. She's…tough."

"Thanks, Brycen. I appreciate it." Niko said. As he and Warren turned to leave, he noticed a familiar face walking out of the trailer next to Brycen's. A purple-haired woman in a black witch's outfit was walking down the steps. What caught Niko's eyes wasn't her familiar face, but the pokéball hovering in her hand. "Warren…let's go."

"What? Why? Charlotte wants to see more!"

"Well let's go _find_ Charlotte then." Niko replied, lightly gripping Warren's hood and pulling him away from the familiar face—Sabrina of Kanto's Saffron City Gym.

The two found Charlotte in the Gift Shop, scouring the wide variety of shirts, toys, and other miscellaneous items related to the many Pokéstar movies. Turning to them, she held out a cartoon figurine of Alder holding a pokéball in his hand.

"Isn't he adorable?" She said with a giggle. "He looks so cute and small." She waved the hand with the pokéball at Niko, who couldn't help but laugh. "Are you done fawning over Brycen-Man?"

"…yes, Warren _is_." Niko said, eying his friend.

"Niko's mad that I tried to get Brycen to battle him. You know he used to be a gym leader, right?"

Charlotte nodded. "Yeah, of Icirrus City, right? Yeah Niko, you're not ready to battle him. I've heard he's pretty strong."

"That's what I said!" Niko protested. "But _someone_ didn't think so."

"Look, Niko…you're going to have to accept that you're a good trainer. Otherwise I'm going to keep doing this for you." Warren said cautiously. "Anyway, let's go check out the studio. I think that's open to the public, right?" He turned to Charlotte for confirmation. She nodded, and the trio took off towards the studio, which was just north of the Gift Shop.

The lobby for the studio looked much like an ordinary lobby—such as the Pokémon Center—with a front desk, a video chat center, couches and tables scattered around, and a vending machine. In the back of the room was a hallway that led to some restricted area, which Niko took to be the actual entrance to the studio.

"Excuse me," Warren asked to the woman at the front desk. "Are tourists allowed to visit the studio?"

"Only VIP visitors are allowed." She said politely, but with a bite in her tone, as if she got this question constantly. Warren, catching this, backed off and nodded, turning to relay her answer to Niko and Charlotte, who both agreed to leave and check out another part of the studio park.

As they were leaving, the single person Niko wished to not see was standing right in front of him, ready to enter the studio. Sabrina looked at him carefully; studying Niko hard, as if recognizing him but trying to confirm her own suspicions.

"Why, hello Niko. It's been a while." Sabrina said in a kind, yet slightly tense, tone.

Niko wasn't sure how to respond—Sabrina could singlehandedly reveal everything about his past; everything he was trying to leave behind him. She could ruin all of his efforts over the past few months to erase who he was before he arrived in Castelia City. _Do I forget she exists? Or do I response as if she is any ordinary acquaintance?_

He chose the latter. "H-hi, Sabrina. What are you doing here?"

"I am an actor. I don't think I ever told you." She replied, this time with a smile. Actually, it was more of a smirk.

"No…no you didn't." Niko said. _What's she playing at?_

"Well, I am. What are you doing around here? I thought you were living in Kanto."

"I live here now, working in Castelia City. I took a vacation with my friends here, Charlotte and Warren. We're just visiting the studio."

"Oh? Would you like to see the studio?" She asked, motioning back into the lobby. The trio all looked at one another, not expecting the offer. "I'll take that as a yes. Come, let me show you." She said, walking through the lobby, nodding politely to the lady at the front desk. As he passed by, Warren couldn't help but shoot her a friendly glance, to which she responded with a slight frown.

"So Sabrina, how do you and Niko know each other?" Warren asked of the Saffron City Gym Leader.

"We have a mutual friend back in Kanto. It's a loose connection, but we've met on a couple occasions. Right, Niko?"

 _She's covering it up, for some reason_. "Yes, that's correct." He nodded to Warren and Charlotte, feeling as though they might be skeptical. As it turned out, they weren't. "Sabrina is from Saffron City, the biggest city in Kanto."

"Kind of like Castelia City?" Charlotte asked.

"Sort of. Celadon City is more akin to Castelia City, actually. But Saffron has a more corporate atmosphere. It's where Silph Co. is headquartered.

Before any of them could respond, the trio arrived with Sabrina in the film room. It was, like most things in Pokéstar Studios, massive. Two corners of the room were covered in lime green flooring and each had a green screen on the wall behind, with flood lights covering the ceiling above. There were long desks completely covered in wires, keyboards, and monitors that displayed a variety of video and audio editing programs.

"Wow…" Warren said, looking around. "So what movie are you working on right now, Sabrina?"

"Mystery Doors of the Magical Land. I play the Magic Queen, Bellelba." She said with a smirk, pulling out a black fan and hovering a pokéball above it with her psychic abilities.

"We'll definitely have to check it out when it comes out in theaters." Charlotte said politely. "And thank you for giving us access to the film studio. Now I get to imagine what it's like to produce a movie behind the scenes!"

"Well, I'm happy to show this off to any friend of Niko's." She said, turning to the young trainer. "Niko, I heard from Brycen that you're challenging the gyms here. I only wish you the best of luck, as I have with any of your ventures." She held her hand out.

"Thanks, Sabrina. I appreciate that." Niko said, returning the handshake. "It was nice to see you again."

"And you as well. Now, I must get to work! Stay as long as you want." She said and, with a flutter of her fan, spun on her feet and walked over to a bearded man in a director's chair.

Niko, Charlotte, and Warren took up Sabrina's offer and continued observing the film studio for nearly another hour. They watched a couple scenes from Sabrina's new movie, as well as some other movie that seemed to pique Charlotte's interest before exiting the film studio and back into Virbank City. On the way, Niko was wondering how much more preparation he would need before he challenged the Virbank Gym Leader.


	11. Koffing and the Toxics

**Episode 11: "Koffing and the Toxics"**

"How do you feel, Niko?" Warren asked, looking at his roommate, who was sitting up on his bed after waking up the following day.

"About the gym?" Niko simply shrugged. "I guess I'm fine. I don't know what to expect, like with Cheren."

"Alright, fair enough. Do we know where the gym is?" He asked, turning to Charlotte, who was sitting on the bed opposite their individual ones. She shrugged as well, indicating that she has no idea. "Well, let's grab some breakfast and then go find the gym. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

In the lobby of the Pokémon Center, they asked Nurse Joy where the gym was before grabbing something to eat. She mentioned that it is in an alleyway near the port. Despite the answer being vague and slightly frightening, Niko and his friends accepted this without argument or visible confusion. After eating—Niko watched Rufflet finish his meal ravenously—the trio took off towards the Virbank City Gym. It was late in the morning in Virbank City, and the fog was still sitting low to the ground. To be sure, it was a thin fog, but it gave the streets a cold and eerie feeling.

Finding the exact location of the gym was difficult. The trio reached the port, and then immediately began looking around for any alleyway entrances to a Pokémon Gym. After what seemed like half an hour—but was actually only ten minutes—Charlotte found a thin building smashed in between a diner and a hair salon with a pokéball symbol on top of the door.

"I think this is it…" she said, pointing to the pokéball. Niko and Warren nodded, walking up to the door.

"Thanks, Charlotte!" Warren said, lightly tapping her on the shoulder before following Niko through the door and down the steep set of stairs.

At the other end of the set of stairs was a…club. A dancing club of the kind Niko usually saw in Castelia City. However, this one was a little dirtier, he noticed. On the stage stood three young people, each practicing with different instruments and presumably in a band together. To the left of the club was a battlefield. On the back of the stage was a massive picture of a koffing—an all-too familiar Pokémon to Niko.

It took a moment for the band to realize Niko and his friends were there. Once they looked up and revealed themselves, the trio immediately recognized the one in the middle. It was the girl that yelled in Charlotte's face the previous day. The angry one.

"What do you three want?" She asked, looking back down at her guitar and continuing to play it.

"My friend Niko wants to challenge the gym leader of this city." Warren said, pointing to Niko.

"Err, yeah. I'm Niko from Pallet Town, and I challenge the gym leader to a battle." He said, more decisively.

"Oh?" She said, looking back down at Niko. "Well, it just so happens that I'm the gym leader. Name's Roxie, lead singer in 'Koffing and the Toxics' and leader of this gym. I accept your challenge." She briefly eyed Charlotte and smirked. "I see you're the people we ran into yesterday. Didn't defend your girlfriend I see."

"She's not my girlfriend." Niko said with a frown, which seemed to amuse Roxie.

"Whatever you say. Gym battles are two-versus-two. I used to use three Pokémon and have challengers use as many as possible, but I've recently gotten weaker trainers with only a single badge." She motioned for Niko and his friends to join her on the battlefield. While Niko and Roxie took opposite ends of the field Warren, Charlotte, and the members of Roxie's band sat in seats off to the side, each group sitting at different tables. Smeargle, Poliwag, and Swadloon each sat outside of their pokéballs to watch the match.

Niko pulled out his first pokéball. He knew exactly what Roxie's type specialty was now. It was a matter of which Pokémon she chose first.

"Koffing, I choose you!" She shouted, throwing out a pokéball onto the battlefield. Out of it erupted a small, spherical Pokémon with green gas emitting from it.

"Snivy, let's go!" Niko shouted, throwing out a pokéball of his own containing the Grass Snake Pokémon. "Let's start off with leer!"

"Koffing, smog!" Roxie commanded. The Poison Gas Pokémon emitted black and purple gas from the holes in its body towards Snivy, who managed to move out of the way of the cloud of poison gas and dash forward towards koffing at a faster pace than Niko knew she was capable of.

"Snivy! Tackle!"

"Assurance, koffing!" Roxie shouted. Koffing began to emit a gray aura and promptly slammed into Snivy, knocking her backwards onto the field. She rolled across the field before coming to a stop near Niko. She slowly got back to her feet, but the assurance seemed to be too much for her to handle.

"You can do this, Snivy." Niko said. "We just need to be smarter about this. Use vine whip!"

"Koffing, smog!" Roxie called out. Once more, koffing released a black and purple cloud of gas, directing it towards Snivy, who once more evaded the attack and slapped the Poison Gas Pokémon with her green vines. Koffing, who looked furious with the attack, whipped around to Snivy and used tackle, knocking the Grass Snake Pokémon to the ground.

"Snivy's having a lot of difficulty with this." Warren said. "Which is expected, right? Grass type versus poison type."

"Roxie never deals in type advantages." One of her bandmates said. He was bald with a crocodile on his black leather jacket. "She has beaten countless Pokémon with that koffing, even psychic and ground types."

"Really now." Warren said. "Then this'll be more difficult for Niko than we thought."

Niko bit his finger lightly. He was nervous now. Snivy was taking a beating from this Koffing, and he had no idea how to respond. He was just glad, above all else, that she was able to dodge the smog attack. However, he knew that wouldn't last.

"Koffing, assurance!" Roxie shouted, and her Pokémon rushed forward to slam into Snivy, who was still on the ground. "Now, smog up close!"

Koffing opened his mouth and bathed Snivy in a cloud of black and purple gas. The Grass Snake Pokémon began coughing profusely as Koffing floated backwards, giving space between it and Snivy.

"Snivy are you alright?" Niko shouted out. The Grass Snake nodded before having another coughing fit. "Are you _sure_?" Snivy nodded again, and proved it to Niko—or tried to, rather—by unleashing a vine whip at koffing. However, the smog clearly weakened her, and the vine whip barely reached the Poison Gas Pokémon, only lightly tapping it. Just then, Snivy collapsed onto the ground in defeat.

One of Roxie's bandmates stood up. "Snivy is unable to battle, Koffing is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Is there no judge for this battle?" Charlotte asked the bandmate, again the bald one.

"No, you just showed up out of nowhere. We'll act as referees for this, if you don't mind." He said, smirking. "And, by the looks of it, we won't have to referee this for much longer."

"Whatever you say. Niko's going to win." Charlotte said, huffing a little before crossing her legs and watching the battle.

"Snivy, return. You did great, buddy. We'll heal you up as soon as we win this." He exchanged pokéballs, and called out his second Pokémon. "Rufflet, I choose you!"

"Hmm, a Rufflet? Alright then. Koffing, use smog!"

"Dodge it, Rufflet, and use peck!"

Rufflet—like Snivy—agilely dodged the cloud of poison gas by launching himself directly into the air and then diving at an angle towards Koffing, his beak glowing bright white. The two collided, with Rufflet driving Koffing into the ground, with a cloud of dust erupting in the wake of the collision with the floor of the battlefield.

"Assurance!" Roxie commanded. Koffing spun a little and then slammed into Rufflet, who retaliated with fury attack on Niko's command. The Eaglet Pokémon managed to knock back Koffing, disrupting the assurance and knocking it back to the ground.

"Use peck!" Niko shouted. Rufflet began to dive down once more when Koffing blew out a smog attack. "Dodge instead!"

Rufflet, who knew he had the win in the bag, decided to ignore Niko and instead crash into Koffing, engulfing himself in the smog but defeating his opponent in the process.

"Koffing…is unable to battle. Rufflet wins!" The same bandmate—who Charlotte and Warren identified as Nicky—declared.

"Rufflet, you have to listen to me!" Niko said in a slightly scolding tone. "You wouldn't be coughing so much now!" He continued. Rufflet glared at Niko, as if blaming his trainer for this. He then looked away, eying Roxie with a vengeance.

"Whirlipede, I choose you!" Roxie said, throwing out a pokéball containing an insectoid Pokémon encased in a gray and pale pink shell. There were two pairs of gray, horn-like feelers with dark gray stripes, with one pair extended upward from its front and the other pointing downward from its lower rear. It had one yellow and black eye on each side of the shell.

" _Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon. Bug and poison type. Storing energy for evolution, it sits. But, when predators approach, it moves to stab them with poison spikes._ "

"Alright Rufflet, let's go. Use fury attack!" Niko shouted, thrusting his hand forward. Rufflet charged forward, ready to strike Whirlipede with his talons. However, he began to glow a bright purple color, indicating that he was poisoned. To this, Niko nervously bit his finger again. _So now our time is limited—Rufflet won't be able to handle this poison much longer. He has no experience with it_. "Rufflet, you have to listen to me, or else we _will_ lose this. Can you do that?"

The Eaglet Pokémon turned to Niko, halting his fury attack. He looked almost worried—the first time Niko ever noticed that kind of expression. And he felt bad for Rufflet. Despite all of the problems he's had with the little bird, he knows that Rufflet wants to get stronger, and cares deeply about this.

He nodded. "Are you ready to win this, buddy?" Rufflet, seeing Niko's own determined expression, changed his own. "Good. Rufflet, use fury attack!"

"Whirlipede, protect!" Roxie commanded. A spherical force field surrounded the Curlipede Pokémon, blocking Rufflet's attempts at attacking it. "Now, poison sting!"

Purple barbs shot out from the horns on Whirlipede's shell, striking Rufflet and knocking him backwards and onto the ground. Roxie commanded her Pokémon to repeat the attack, keeping the Eaglet Pokémon at bay.

"Rufflet, stay strong. Remember, it's a bug type. We have the advantage here. We just need to exploit it, alright?" Rufflet nodded, slowly getting back up, flapping his wings as a way of stretching. Niko smirked. "Roxie, good luck taking on this guy—he will never give up."

"We'll see about that. Whirlipede, venoshock!" Roxie shouted, strumming her guitar, which emitted a loud electric sound. Whirlipede spewed liquid poison towards Rufflet, dowsing him in it.

Niko paused. He remembered Hunter once using that on his Pokémon. He frowned a little, balling up his fists. Warren and Charlotte, sitting on the side of the field, both looked worried, as they didn't understand what was happening.

"Rufflet, can you continue?" Niko asked again. He began breathing heavily. Rufflet nodded. "Alright then. Use wing attack!"

Rufflet's tiny wings began to glow white, and he started to flap them to get the liquid poison off of them. He then began running before leaping a little into the air and flying low to the ground, colliding with Whirlipede, who shot out a poison sting upon contact. Niko noticed the bug type wince a little from the attack. He knew it worked.

"Rufflet, wing attack again!" Niko shouted, thrusting his fist forward. Rufflet spun through the air before diving back down at Whirlipede, who used protect on Roxie's command. Rufflet, bouncing off of the protective shield, returned once more with fury attack, thrusting his talons downwards on the top of Whirlipede's shell relentlessly.

"Venoshock!" Roxie shouted.

"Fight through it, Rufflet!" Niko called out. "We're so close! Let's win this for us! Win this for Snivy!" He shouted out. Rufflet nodded, launching back directly into the air and promptly diving back down, wings spread out. He dove through the liquid poison aimed at him and crashed onto Whirlipede's shell before rolling off and landing on his feet. Turning to his opponent, Rufflet glared into Whirlipede's yellow eye, watching it slowly close and fall to the side.

"Whirlipede is unable to battle, Rufflet is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Nicky declared, slightly upset by the results.

"Whirlipede, return." Roxie said, turning to the third band member. "Billy Jo, get Niko a Pecha Berry, will you?"

Billy Jo nodded, rushing off to a fridge and grabbing a small pink berry. She tossed it to Niko, who was at Rufflet's side.

"Here, Rufflet. This'll help." He said, force-feeding the berry to his bird Pokémon. "You did amazing today. I'm very proud of you, buddy."

Rufflet nodded, finishing the berry before weakly cawing to his trainer. Niko then picked Rufflet up and held him in his arms as Roxie and her bandmates approached him. Warren and Charlotte joined Niko on his end.

"Niko, that is some Rufflet you've got there. Color me impressed." Roxie said, her expression matching her words. She then pulled out a small badge from her pocket. The badge was shaped like a smoke signal, with four small purple circles lining up to a poison mark. Niko took the badge and showed it to Rufflet, who smirked in response. "Here is the Toxic Badge, as proof that you've defeated me in battle. As I say to every trainer who beats me, I wish you luck."

"Thanks, Roxie." Niko said with a weak smile of his own. "This was a good battle, but I need to get to the Pokémon Center quickly."

"Of course. I wish your Pokémon the best in recovering. Poison types aren't easy to fight, so kudos to Snivy and Rufflet. They'll be stronger because of it, I think."

* * *

Back at the Pokémon Center, Niko and his friends ate a quick meal while Snivy and Rufflet were healing up. He sat in silence while Charlotte and Warren were talking about how great Rufflet performed in the battle.

"So, Niko…" Warren said. "I guess this is where we head back to Castelia City, right?"

"Well, yeah. What happens now?" He asked, looking up at his friend.

"I'm going to continue my journey, I know that. I'll probably head north of Castelia now that I've gone west and east. You're more than welcome to join me, since there's more gyms that way."

"Maybe, I don't know yet."

"What's holding you back?" Warren asked, looking a little concerned. "You've won two gym battles now! Your Pokémon want to battle! Plus, there's a gym in Castelia City. You can challenge that one too!"

"Well, maybe. I still need to think about it."

"What about you, Charlotte?" Warren said, turning to the brunette. "Do you want to continue with us?"

"I don't think I can." She admitted. "My mom probably wants me to find a job. Plus, I only told her I'd be gone for a week or two, anyways. I think I have an interview when I get back, too." She shrugged, expressing a look of concern. "But if you're challenging the Castelia Gym, Niko, I'll gladly come and watch it."

"Thanks, Charlotte. I appreciate that." Niko said. Suddenly, Nurse Joy summoned him. His Pokémon were ready for pick-up. Walking up to the front desk, Nurse Joy gave him two pokéballs that he picked up. "Thanks for checking on them."

"No worries. I'm used to dealing with poisoned Pokémon by now. Most of the trainers that come to me battled Roxie." She said with a smile. "Glad to know someone beat her. Her win rate is higher than most gym leaders."

"Good to know." Niko said, looking at the two pokéballs with pride. He then sat back down with his friends, the smile still etched on his face. "Anyway, let's get some tickets to Castelia City. The boat ride shouldn't take too long, right?"

"Nope!" Charlotte said. "Since it's closer to Castelia City than Aspertia City is. We could get there by the end of the day if we left soon."

"That is true. I'm ready to go home if you two are." Niko replied, looking at his friends. They both nodded, indicating that they were ready to finish their journey—or, in Warren's case, pause it.

An hour later, they approached the port, eventually finding the building where they could purchase tickets. Getting the earliest trip to Castelia City was slightly more expensive but Niko, Warren, and Charlotte didn't mind it. They'd be home sooner than they thought.


	12. The sewers

**Episode 12: The sewers**

By the end of the same day Niko received the Toxic Badge, him and his friends made it back to Castelia City—their home. That evening, Niko stayed at his apartment while Warren went back with Sydney, and Charlotte went to her home with her mother.

"This is where I live, Rufflet." He said, showing the Eaglet Pokémon his apartment. Rufflet, who was sitting on Niko's shoulders, got off and flew around the apartment, exploring the area. "Yeah, it isn't much. Especially now that Warren has left…" He looked down at Snivy. "Looks like we might get a new roommate soon, buddy."

The Grass Snake simply shook her head, as if denying Niko's statement. Confused, Niko eyed Snivy briefly before walking into his room and collapsing on his bed. It had been a long day for all of them.

Niko reached over the side of his bed and grabbed the two badges he's received so far—the Basic and Toxic badges. Holding one in each hand, he studied them carefully. The two badges were, to him, a symbol that he was a trainer once again. Niko didn't feel like a trainer, and he didn't want to be one. But he saw how excited Warren got, seeing him battle and do well. He noticed Charlotte seemed to enjoy the journey as well. In addition, and more importantly, Snivy and Rufflet wanted to battle, and wanted to get stronger. He didn't want to deny them that opportunity.

"Hey Snivy, Rufflet." Niko said, lowering the badges to see Snivy laying at the end of his bed. Rufflet, who was still flying around the apartment, flew into Niko's room and perched himself on the nightstand to Niko's left. "I know the gym battles so far have been difficult but…do you both enjoy battling? What I mean is, would you both want to continue going on this journey with Warren?"

He waited for Rufflet and Snivy to respond. Rufflet nodded wildly, but Snivy waited to see if Niko wanted to continue. As it turned out, Niko had more to say.

"There's a gym here in Castelia City. And Warren will head north next, and there's bound to be gyms there as well. If you both want to continue doing this, then I will too. But I'm hesitant because…I don't like being a trainer. I have had, well, bad experiences with it, and my preference is to not do this again. But I know you both enjoy this, and I want to see both of you be the very best you can be. Does that make sense?"

Snivy sagely nodded. It's clear that she understood Niko's conundrum, but wasn't necessarily able to figure out a reasonable solution to it all. Rufflet, on the other hand, nodded vigorously.

"Well, I think I'll pay Charlotte a visit tomorrow, and then Warren and Sydney. Maybe talking to them would help." Niko said before falling back on his pillow and collapsing into slumber.

* * *

The following morning, Niko woke up to see his Pokémon still resting. The previous day had been exhausting for the both of them, despite the copious amount of rest they had gotten in the aftermath. Lumbering down the hallway from his room and into the kitchen, he lazily put something together for Snivy and Rufflet before getting ready for the day.

Looking around the apartment, he realized how much he missed having Warren around. It had only been a single night, but he liked the presence of other people more than he had initially thought. He hardly knew Charlotte, but he appreciated her company as well. It helped to further convince Niko that he would be better off going on a journey throughout Unova, collecting gym badges, meeting Pokémon, and continuing his journey to become a Pokémon Master.

"Alright you two, let's head off to meet Charlotte." Niko said, getting up off of his couch after a while of sitting, eating, and thinking. He was to meet his friend down near Unity Pier, which was the closest to both of their homes. On the trip, he kept Snivy and Rufflet out of their pokéballs so they could enjoy the walk through the city as well. It was Rufflet's first time in a city of this size, and at first, he felt very overwhelmed by the amount of people and Pokémon roaming around. He even tried to peck at a Purrloin walking by, only for Niko to grab him and pull him inwards, profusely apologizing to the Purrloin's trainer. She wasn't very happy with Niko and Rufflet.

They arrived at the café looking out on Unity Pier, finding Charlotte standing outside waiting for them. Upon seeing Niko, she smiled politely and waved to them. Leading them inside, she sat down at a table across from Niko, and their Pokémon sat at their feet, conversing with one another.

"So…" He finally said, unsure of what to begin with. "How are you readjusting to home life?"

"Good so far. Told my mom about some of the things we got to do. She was glad we got to go visit Pokéstar Studios, and is happy for your two gym victories." She paused, looking down at her hands. "How about you?"

"Fine. Just went home and fell asleep. Rufflet seemed to enjoy flying around my apartment, but he got over it quickly I think. Snivy felt right at home, though." Niko also paused, looking down at the cup of tea sitting in front of him. He waited for it to cool down, and simply played with his hands. "Anyway…"

"Anyway…" Charlotte said. They looked at each other for a moment. "Warren keeps talking about wanting to continue his journey northwards. Do you plan on joining him?"

Niko was silent for a moment before nodding slightly. "Yes. I'm sure I will join him. I don't have a job anymore, don't have a roommate, I don't seem to have a choice."

"You always have a choice, Niko." Charlotte said, more sincerely than before. "If you don't want to, then don't. I get that you don't feel comfortable. I don't know the reason, and I don't need to, but I've noticed you haven't felt entirely comfortable this past week or so."

"Well, that's sort of right. It would make sense if I explained it, but I'd prefer not to…I guess. But I don't feel like this is about me. It's about Warren, Snivy, Rufflet, you."

"Me?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. You wanted to come on a journey with us. It only makes sense that I would want you to be happy, too."

"Oh…I appreciate that, Niko." Charlotte said, smiling slightly. "But…you should consider what you really want to do."

"I am." Niko said, drinking his tea. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, he asked a question that had been on his mind for the past day or so. "Do you want to join us?"

"I would." Charlotte said, rather quickly. "But I don't know how my mom would feel about it. I'd have to run it by her."

"I'll come with you, then." Niko said. "It might make it better if I'm around, you know?"

"Sure, that makes sense. Well, she is off work today I think, so do you want to just come over and we can talk to her?"

"Let's do that." Niko put down his tea. "Hey Snivy, Rufflet, we're heading out now. C'mon!" Snivy and Rufflet got up from under the table and follow Niko and Charlotte out of the café and onto the streets of Castelia City.

Since Unity Pier was relatively close to the both of them, the trip to Charlotte's home wouldn't take too long. During the walk, they made small, light conversation. As they were walking down a street, roughly three or so blocks from Charlotte's place, they heard a sound coming from below them. Looking around, Niko stopped and twisted his head around in search of the odd sound, which was more like a "bang."

"Did you hear that?" He asked, turning to Charlotte. The brunette looked to him, and then around as well. She shook her head, but it was clear to Niko that Snivy and Rufflet heard the sound, since they were running around on the sidewalk and in the street. Cautiously, Niko and Charlotte continued down the street for a minute or so until they heard something smashing together beneath the street. "Oh! There it is again! Right over there!" He said, pointing to the street. "It's…under the street."

"What is it…?" She said just as a manhole cover burst several feet away from them. It launched several feet into the air. "Woah!"

"Snivy, Rufflet, be prepared to fight, just in case." Niko said, watching the uncovered manhole carefully. He slowly stepped towards it. Once he got close enough, he peered over to see what was hidden under the manhole. "Err…there doesn't seem to be anything down there…" He motioned for Charlotte to join him, but she didn't move. "You don't want to follow?"

"Nope. I have no idea what's down there."

"You'll be fine. Come on." Niko said, reaching his hand out, even though they were both standing still on stable ground. Charlotte didn't take his hand but chose to walk over all the same, also peering over into the manhole. "I think we can just climb down."

" _Climb down_? We're not going in there, are we?"

"Sure we are. Let's explore it!" Niko said. "I'm not a fan of dirty, damp places, but this seems kinda fun. Let's go!"

"But we don't have any light!" Charlotte protested.

"What does your Smeargle know?" Niko asked. He knew Charlotte's Smeargle could learn sketch, and there was a chance it knew some sort of fire type move, or flash.

"Uh…I think it might know ember, actually. Smeargle, can you use ember and keep it on your tail?"

The Painting Pokémon nodded, and the group reluctantly climbed down into the manhole to investigate the source of the sound. Once they reached the damp bottom of the manhole, Smeargle waved her tail around to light the area up, and Niko and Charlotte quickly realized that they were in a sewer system.

"Well then, looks like there's nothing around here…" Niko said just as they heard the ground shake underneath them. "Spoke too soon, I guess."

"Y-yeah…" Charlotte said before turning around. "I don't see anything, Niko. Why are we here?"

"To investigate, but it doesn't seem like there's anything around here. Niko, can we go back up?"

"I guess so…" Niko said, looking around. However, just as they were about to climb back up the manhole cover, Niko turned to look behind Charlotte and saw two large, white eyes peering at him. "Charlotte, don't…turn around…" Niko said cautiously. "Snivy…stand by, but don't do anything."

"What's happening, Niko…?" Charlotte said, looking down at Niko from the ladder on the edge of the manhole. She then made the mistake of defying Niko and turning around to see the pair of eyes.

She then let out a short scream, which seemed to agitate the monster. Niko then grabbed her off of the ladder, put her back down on the floor and, grabbing her wrist, began running. Smeargle, Rufflet, and Snivy also broke into a dash down the sewer tunnel, the Pokémon ripping through the sewer tunnel behind them.

"WHAT IS THAT?" Charlotte yelled as they ran through the tunnel.

"It's an Onix, I think." Niko said, honestly unsure. He forgot what Onix's eyes looked like, but he was quite sure it was the Rock Snake Pokémon. "Snivy, can you fight?" He asked, turning back to see the Grass Snake Pokémon running behind him. She nodded. "Alright, next intersection we hit, let's fight."

"Are you crazy!?" Charlotte asked.

"Don't worry, we've got this, right Snivy?" Niko asked. Snivy nodded, and as soon as they could turn into another sewer tunnel, they did. "Snivy, vine whip!"

Snivy spun back around and released green vines just as Onix's face appeared in the intersection. The vine whip didn't seem to help, however—it only enraged Onix even more. The Rock Snake Pokémon then roared out, which seemed to frighten Snivy slightly. Niko then commanded another vine whip while Charlotte, Rufflet, and Smeargle watched. Rufflet, who wanted some of the action, charged forward and used fury attack on Onix's face, but was buffeted by the hardness of Onix's head. Gritting his teeth, Niko then commanded another vine whip, but it wasn't doing anything.

"Okay, this isn't working." Niko said. He turned to Charlotte, who was terrified, and motioned behind them, indicating that it was their time to flee once more. "Snivy, Rufflet, let's go again. I think we've got it stuck."

Turns out they didn't force Onix to get stuck. As Niko forgot to consider, Onix's body was thickest towards the front of its body, and thinned out at the end of its tail, which made it easy to turn. Surprised, Niko broke into a faster sprint, nearly leaving Charlotte far behind him. Before he noticed this, Charlotte was dangerously close to Onix.

"Snivy!" He said as he stopped and shouted. The Grass Snake leapt forward and somersaulted through the air. Just as she was about to unleash a tornado of leaves from the tip of her tail, essentially mastering the move leaf tornado, another attack hit Onix first, blinding it by kicking dirt into its eyes. "Great job Snivy—wait what?" Niko asked bemusedly, looking to see a tiny little Pokémon standing in front of the blind—and angry—Onix. Snivy landed right next to it, turning and smiling at it in thanks. Rufflet, who wasn't quite done fighting, rushed forward and made another attempt at fury attack, but it was clear Onix wasn't in the mood for fighting anymore, and slowly backed up and left, leaving Niko and Charlotte with the mysterious Pokémon that helped them.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked, pulling out her Pokédex:

" _Roggenrola, the Mantle Pokémon. Rock type. The hexagonal-shaped hole is its ear. It has a tendency to walk in the direction the sound is coming from_."

"That's probably how it found us, actually." Niko said, crouching down to the Roggenrola. "Thanks for the help, buddy. My name's Niko. This is my friend, Charlotte, and my other Pokémon, Snivy and Rufflet." He pat the Roggenrola on the tip of its rock head, which was a brown, rocky oblong atop its spherical, navy blue rock head. It's "ear" was bright yellow and hexagonal-shaped.

"We really appreciate the help, Roggenrola." Charlotte said in a kind tone, crouching down. She stood back up and turned to Niko, who was petting Rufflet and issuing praise to the Eaglet Pokémon. "Hey, Niko."

"What's up, Charlotte?"

"You should try to catch this Roggenrola. It looks strong, and it might be a nice addition to your team."

"You think so?" Niko asked, turning to Rufflet, and then to Snivy.

"Yeah! It helped take down a Pokémon multiple times its size. It's got courage, that's for sure." She turned to Roggenrola.

"Well Roggenrola, do you want to join us? I'm challenging gyms across the Unova region, and I might need some more help. You'd get a chance to grow stronger, too…I hope." Niko said, nervously scratching his head.

Roggenrola tilted its head a little in confusion, as if trying to figure out the answer on its own. Eventually, it nodded by moving its entire head forwards and back.

"I'll take that as a yes. Hey, Snivy, want to fight this Roggenrola?" Niko asked. Before Snivy could answer, though, Rufflet leapt off of his trainer's shoulders and dove down at Roggenrola to use wing attack. However, just like with Onix, the attack didn't seem to faze the Mantle Pokémon, who hurled a flurry of rocks in varying sizes at the Eaglet Pokémon, who skillfully dodged most of them before getting hit in the chest directly, sending it hurtling into the sewer wall. "Rufflet…" Niko said, shaking his head. "I appreciate the effort, but it's harder for you to fight rock types. Your attacks don't do as much damage. Snivy, use leaf tornado on Roggenrola!"

Snivy leapt into the air, spinning forward and unleashing a leaf tornado at the tiny rock type, engulfing it in leaves and throwing it into the air. Niko then commanded Snivy to use vine whip, which successfully hit Roggenrola in midair.

However, the Mantle Pokémon was harder to beat than Niko thought. While in the air, it rotated its brown rock point and dove down at Snivy using its weight to maneuver through the air. It crashed down into the Grass Snake Pokémon, who retaliated with another leaf tornado that launched Roggenrola backwards. Niko then saw his chance.

"I—I don't have a pokéball, though!" Niko said, frantically running his hands through his bag and pockets. "Charlotte?"

"Err…maybe, actually. Let me check." She said, unzipping her own small bag and picking through it while Snivy and Roggenrola continued to exchange blows. Eventually, somehow, she found one. "So…all I have is this Ultra Ball." She said, pulling out a black and yellow pokéball. "I got this as a gift at some show I went to months ago, but I haven't ever needed it. Here." She said, tossing it to Niko, who then threw it into the sewer tunnel, past Snivy and directly at Roggenrola, who began to glow bright red and went inside the Ultra Ball. The ball fell to the damp floor and began to wiggle around before ultimately clicking, indicating the successful capture.

"Thanks, Charlotte." Niko said cordially before walking over to Roggenrola's pokéball and picking it up. "Welcome to the team, Roggenrola. Now," He said, turning to his friends. "Let's go to Charlotte's."

* * *

"Mom! I'm home!" Charlotte said as she walked through the door. Niko followed, having put his Pokémon back into their pokéballs. Moments later, Emily—Charlotte's Mom—walked out of a room down the hallway and waved.

"Niko! How're you?" She said, walking up to Niko and shaking his hand. "Charlotte told me you've become a Pokémon Trainer now."

"Yes, guess so." He said, slightly exasperated. "But it's good. We just got back from me catching a Pokémon, actually."

"Oh? What happened?" She asked.

"Don't ask." Niko and Charlotte both said simultaneously, which seemed to end that conversation. "Anyway Mom, I have something to ask you." Charlotte continued.

"Yes…?" Emily asked, curious and cautious.

"Niko asked if I wanted to continue journeying with him and Warren through Unova. Niko is going to take on the gym leaders, and Warren just wants to travel. Can I go with them?"

"Oh, Charlotte…" Emily said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You're old enough to make those choices. If that's what you want to do, I'm all for it. Just make sure you don't get yourselves into trouble, alright?" She said, also addressing Niko, who nodded.

"Well, it made sense to ask." Charlotte added, and Emily seemed to understand. "But great! I'm going to start packing. When do we leave, Niko?"

"Err…I don't know. I think I'm going to challenge the Castelia Gym, maybe tomorrow too. But I need to go talk to Warren first. So, why don't we meet at Unity Pier tomorrow afternoon, and we can decide from there?"

"Sure! And if you're challenging the gym, can my Mom come?" She asked.

"Oh, of course she can if she wants to. But I'm not the most entertaining trainer…"

"Please, your battles are great to watch!" Charlotte said, nodding happily before walking down the hall, presumably to her room with Smeargle by her side. Niko and Emily shrugged before the former said his farewells and left the home to go visit his other travelling companion, Warren.

* * *

"Niko!" Sydney said, opening her arms for a hug. Niko gladly accepted, and was welcomed into her apartment, where Warren was sitting on the couch with Poliwag and Swadloon. "How's your day been?"

"Good. Hung out with Charlotte for a bit, and then—"

"Oooh? _Charlotte_?" Sydney said, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not like that." Niko said dryly, which ended that conversation. "Anyway, we ended up in the sewer system beneath Castelia City fighting an Onix—not sure why or how—but I caught a Roggenrola!"

"You caught another Pokémon?" Warren asked, sitting straight up and on the edge of the couch. Niko nodded, pulling out the Ultra Ball Charlotte gave him. "I think I've seen a Roggenrola before. It's a little rock thing, right?" Niko nodded again, summoning the Mantle Pokémon. "Wow! Hi, Roggenrola! I'm Warren, Niko's friend. And these are my Pokémon—Poliwag and Swadloon. You might not get to see them much, since I'm going on a journey soon."

"Yeah, speaking of which—when're we leaving?" Niko asked, sitting down in a nearby chair.

" _We_?" Warren asked, raising an eyebrow before it dawned on him what Niko was trying to say. "No…you're doing it!?"

"Yep. I'm gonna begin with the Castelia Gym and get my third badge." Niko said. Warren's face lit up with happiness. He then leapt off of his spot on the couch and embraced Niko tightly, which seemed to alert Roggenrola, who lightly hit Warren with a headbutt, but strong enough to send the message.

"Ow!" Warren said, gripping his side. "What was that for!?" Warren sat back on the couch next to Sydney, who looked both concerned and slightly amused. "To answer your—err—question, Niko, we could leave as early as tomorrow, or maybe the next day so you can get your things together."

"You can leave some of your stuff here too, Niko." Sydney said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Sydney. I'm going to talk to the landlord tomorrow and deal with the logistics of all of this. I'm also meeting Charlotte tomorrow afternoon. She's joining us, by the way."

"Oh? Awesome!" Warren said, equally pleased with this news. "Are you going to challenge the gym tomorrow, too?"

"Probably. I'm meeting Charlotte at Unity Pier, and we can just walk to the gym from there, if you two want to come along."

"Of course!" Warren said. "Sydney, you need to see Niko in action. His Pokémon are incredible."

"I don't work tomorrow, so of course I can! It'll be fun!" She said.

The three went through the logistics a little more before Niko eventually left the apartment for his own. In a couple of days' time, he would officially leave his new home for a new adventure in Unova.


	13. Art of the insect

**Episode 13: Art of the insect**

Niko arrived back at his apartment and sat down on the couch in his small living room. Summoning all three of his Pokémon, he showed Roggenrola the area and then began making dinner after sitting around for nearly an hour.

"Hey guys, tomorrow we're going to challenge another Pokémon gym. You guys think you'll be up for it?" He asked, turning to look at his foot-tall Pokémon team, all of whom looked up at him with mixed reactions.

Rufflet was excited as usual; Snivy looked determined and nodded with a smirk; Roggenrola simply looked confused. Addressing this, Niko explained a gym battle to Roggenrola, with Snivy and Rufflet trying to add things that Niko didn't understand at all. After a couple more minutes, Roggenrola seemed to understand and suddenly found himself excited, which made Niko smile.

After dinner, he sat down and watched television with his Pokémon for some time before doing some packing up and then heading to bed, with his Pokémon all falling asleep around the same time he did.

The following morning, Niko woke up and continued packing things up before going eating a bit and then heading off towards Unity Pier to meet up with Charlotte. On the way, he thought about his strategy against the Castelia Gym Leader. He remembered once overhearing a conversation about the Gym Leader—Burgh. Supposedly he specialized in bug types, which would give Niko the advantage, since he had Rufflet and Roggenrola. Earlier in the morning, he took some time to train briefly with Roggenrola, trying to understand the Mantle Pokémon's moveset. Ultimately, he felt confident with his chances, but knew from experience that he shouldn't feel overconfident. That's usually when he would lose.

"Niko!" Charlotte said, waving to him from the same café they met at the previous day. Her mother—Emily—was standing with her, typing on a phone. "So…? What did Warren say?"

"Warren is good to go whenever, and he's excited that you're coming with us. So, I've decided today to challenge the Castelia City Gym."

"I figured you would. So my Mom wanted to come along. It isn't too far—it's in the central park of the city. And I've heard some things about the Gym Leader. I think you'll do well!"

"He uses bug types, so yes, I think I'll be fine." Niko said, smiling and tapping Charlotte on the shoulder. "Anyway, Warren and his girlfriend Sydney are joining us, too. I told them to meet us here."

Just as he said that, Warren and Sydney appeared from around the corner. Everyone exchanged greetings, and then they all walked from the café towards the Castelia City Gym. The trip to the Pokémon Gym didn't take too long, since Unity Pier was just down the street and a few blocks away. Once they reached the central park in Castelia City, the gym wasn't difficult to find—it was a lilac-colored building with massive glass windows on the walls and roof and a plant pattern above the front door. The path leading up to the front door were camouflage tiles, with a variety of different shades of green randomly scattered across each tile.

"It looks lovely." Sydney said, looking up at the glass windows angled up towards the sky above her. Warren then led the way in entering the gym, with Niko, Sydney, Charlotte, and Emily following in behind.

The inside of the gym was just as impressive as the outside, possibly more so. There was a botanical garden surrounding the front room to the gym, with a path through the garden for the group to walk along. As they did so, they all noticed the wide variety of bug types—both domestic and foreign—living in the area. Niko noticed Sewaddle and something that looked similar to a Whirlipede, but also Caterpies and Weedles, Wurmples and Burmys.

At the other end of the path was a standard-size battlefield, with foliage surrounding it. As Niko was busy examining his surroundings, he heard a voice calmly address him and his group from their left.

"Welcome. I take it I have a challenger today?" A tall man with a lime green V-neck shirt, red and dark gray pants, and a red scarf said as he approached Niko and Warren. His hair was brown and wavy, curving widely around on the sides and curling inwards towards his face. "Hi, I'm Burgh, the Gym Leader of Castelia City. And you are…?"

"Niko. Niko from Pallet Town." Niko said, extending his hand to shake Burgh's. "And yes, I'm asking to challenge you for your gym badge."

"Of course. I have a free half-hour anyways. Are you comfortable with a three-on-three battle?" When Niko nodded, Burgh looked up to address a man in a referee's outfit who was sitting on a bench nearby. He looked up at Burgh and nodded instantly. "And you're my only challenger?" Niko nodded again. "Indeed. Your friends may take their seats near the referee, and we can begin in a moment."

Burgh then consulted with the referee while Niko took his spot on the end of the field opposite Burgh, while his friends seated themselves. As usual, Warren summoned his Pokémon so they could also watch Niko's battle. Charlotte did the same with Smeargle. Eventually, Burgh also took his spot opposite Niko, and pulled out a pokéball. Niko waited to see what he summoned before he could use his own.

"Shelmet, I choose you!" Burgh shouted, summoning his first Pokémon—a small snail-like Pokémon that seemed to live in a knight's helmet.

" _Shelmet, the Snail Pokémon. Bug type._ " Charlotte's pokédex said. " _When it and Karrablast are together, and both receive electrical stimulation, they both evolve_."

"Roggenrola, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his new rock type. "Let's start off with sand attack!"

"Shelmet, acid!" Burgh commanded, and his Pokémon obeyed, spitting purple liquid from its mouth towards Roggenrola, who simply stood there, kicking sand into the air. Fortunately, the sand attack negated the effects of acid, and hardly seemed to affect Roggenrola. "Hmm. Use mega drain instead!"

Shelmet dashed forward with an unusual amount of speed, launching itself into the air and landing on Roggenrola, puckering up to the Mantle Pokémon's head and starting to glow a bright green color. Roggenrola shifted around, trying to throw Shelmet off.

"Sand attack!" Niko commanded a second time. Roggenrola kicked sand into the air, trying to hit Shelmet, who was still stuck on him. Eventually, Shelmet got off on its own accord, which in hindsight ended up being a mistake for the Snail Pokémon. "Now, rock blast!" Niko shouted, thrusting his fist forward.

Roggenrola conjured rock after rock, slamming them into Shelmet and progressively knocking it backwards. Niko then shouted for Roggenrola to use headbutt, and the Mantle Pokémon charged forward, rushing through an acid attack, and slamming powerfully into Shelmet. The bug type attempted to use mega drain once more, but took a rock blast to the face, launching it in an archlike motion across the battlefield. It crashed in front of Burgh's feet, unable to battle.

"Shelmet is unable to battle, Roggenrola is the winner!" The referee announced. "Leader Burgh will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Dwebble, I choose you!" Burgh said calmly, throwing out a second Pokémon, this time containing a small hermit crab-like Pokémon. Its body was orange with black eyes. Its shell was a charcoal gray color.

" _Dwebble, the Rock Inn Pokémon. Bug and rock type. When it finds a stone of a suitable size, it secretes a liquid from its mouth to open up a hole to crawl into_."

"Dwebble, use faint attack!" Burgh commanded.

"Roggenrola, rock blast!" Niko commanded. The Mantle Pokémon shot out rock after rock at Dwebble, who spun around to use its shell to block the attacks. Then, suddenly, it disappeared into the field. Niko expected this—he's seen faint attack several times before this. "Watch out, Roggenrola…Dwebble can come out of nowhere at any time."

"Niko seems really focused now…" Sydney observed. "You're right, Warren, he's good."

"Of course he is." Warren said with a smirk.

Dwebble then reappeared and struck at Roggenrola from the side, to which the Mantle Pokémon responded by using sand attack, kicking dirt into Dwebble's eyes. The Rock Inn Pokémon crashed to the ground, trying to rub the dirt out of its eyes.

"Rock blast!" Niko shouted, thrusting his palm forward now. Roggenrola nodded, summoning another series of rocks at Dwebble, who took each rock in turn, wincing with each attack. Eventually, Dwebble rubbed the dirt from its eyes, and attacked once more with faint attack. This time, the force of the attack nearly knocked Roggenrola off of his feet, causing the Mantle Pokémon to wobble left and right. "Use mud slap!"

"Dwebble, use rock polish!" Burgh commanded. Dwebble start shining brightly, rubbing its shell across the dirt to polish it, which somehow worked. "And smack down!"

The Rock Inn Pokémon charged forward, ignoring the mud slap and bashing into Roggenrola, picking up the Mantle Pokémon and then slamming him back into the ground.

"Finish it off with faint attack!" Burgh commanded. Dwebble disappeared a third time and proceeded to reappear behind Roggenrola, slamming into it and finally knocking its opponent over in defeat.

"Roggenrola is unable to battle, Dwebble is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Snivy, I choose you!" Niko said without hesitation. "Use leaf tornado!"

"Dwebble, struggle bug!" Burgh commanded. Just as Snivy unleashed a twisting gust of leaves at the Rock Inn Pokémon, the latter surrounded itself in a red aura. Just as the leaf tornado was about to hit, Dwebble crouched down into its shell a little, and the red aura became more and more prominent. Moments later, a massive burst of energy shot out of Dwebble, ripping through the leaf tornado and hitting Snivy square in the face, knocking her backwards.

"Snivy, let's keep going, you got this." Niko said as the Grass Snake got back up. "Use vine whip!"

"Dwebble, use struggle bug again!" Burgh commanded, but this time Snivy was faster, engulfing the Rock Inn Pokémon and lifting it into the air. "Faint attack!"

"Be ready, Snivy." Niko said cautiously. "Keep light on your feet, and be ready for an impact from anywhere."

Snivy quickly looked all around her, waiting for Dwebble. Fortunately, she saw Dwebble coming, using a leaf tornado on herself to minimize the damage. Niko didn't intend to use this move, and found himself impressed by Snivy's intellect. _There's no way I would have thought of that…_ He said to himself.

"Great job, Snivy!" Niko said, proudly waving a fist in the air. "Now let's win this! Use vine whip!" snivy charged forward, leaping into the air and slapping her opponent with green vines originating from her neck. Dwebble winced a little from each attack. "Now, finish it off with leaf tornado!" Niko shouted finally. Snivy obeyed, spinning through the air over Dwebble and launching a final leaf tornado to through the Rock Inn Pokémon into the air and across the field, eventually landing it near Burgh's feet, just like Shelmet before it.

"Dwebble is unable to battle, Snivy is the winner!" The referee stated. "Leader Burgh will now send out his third and final Pokémon!"

"You're proving to be a very capable trainer, Niko." Burgh said, looking pleasantly surprised. "But the battle ends here. If you cannot learn the art of the insect, you won't be able to defeat my most powerful Pokémon. Leavanny, I choose you!" Burgh said, summoning a yellow and green bipedal insectoid Pokémon. On the top of its head it had a broad, split leaf around its large, round head. There were long antennae that end in semicircles. It had red, beady eyes. Its upper arms are also leaf-like, but with a vein of yellow at the top. Its thin legs were yellow with dark green, thick segments around its upper legs, which made them appear armored.

" _Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon. Bug and grass type. Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the stick silk secreted from its mouth_."

"Alright. A Leavanny. Snivy, I think this is what Swadloon evolves into. Think you can do it?" Snivy turned to Niko and nodded quickly before turning her attention back to her new opponent. "Then let's win this. Snivy, use leer!"

"Leavanny, string shot!" Burgh commanded. The Nurturing Pokémon opened its mouth and spat out a long string of silk, quickly and efficiently tying up Snivy while she leered back. "Now, use cut!"

"Snivy, block the attack with leaf tornado!" Niko commanded, using the same strategy as his Pokémon in the previous battle. However, this time it wasn't as successful, since Leavanny was hardly affected by the leaves, and cut through at Snivy all the same, breaking its own silk and launching Snivy past Niko and into a tree behind the battlefield. "Snivy!"

"Leavanny, don't hold up! Use struggle bug!" Burgh commanded. Like with Dwebble before it, a red aura surrounded Leavanny and, moments later, it unleashed that aura energy in the form of a concentrated beam of energy, directly at Snivy, who was laying at the base of the tree. Upon colliding with Snivy, the struggle bug attack broke the trunk, caused the tree to collapse backwards, and defeated Snivy.

"Snivy is unable to battle, Leavanny is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will send out his next Pokémon!"

"Snivy, return. You taught _me_ something knew, and I thank you for that. But we still need to win this." He pulled out Rufflet's pokéball. "It's all up to you, Rufflet! I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Eaglet Pokémon. "Let's go! Rufflet, use wing attack!"

"Leavanny, string shot!" Burgh commanded. Like before, Leavanny opened its mouth and unleashed a quick stream of fresh silk at Rufflet, who cut through with wing attack and continued to dive down at his opponent. "Razor leaf!"

Once again, Rufflet tore through the sharp leaves and finally collided with Leavanny, knocking both of them into the ground and causing a cloud of dust to erupt, with only Rufflet making it out. Moments later, Leavanny slowly got back onto its feet and glared up at Rufflet.

"Struggle bug!" Burgh commanded. Leavanny waited for Rufflet to dive back down with wing attack before committing to struggle bug.

"Dodge, Rufflet!" Niko commanded. The Eaglet Pokémon shifted to the side just as Leavanny unleashed its attack, continuing to dive down with wing attack.

"String shot!" Burgh called out a second time. This time, Rufflet got caught in the silk and fell to the ground, unable to move. "Now, use cut!"

Leavanny's right arm began to glow bright white as it slashed downwards at Rufflet like it was a scythe, or a guillotine. Like with Snivy, though, Rufflet used the opportunity to let the attack slice through. Rufflet then quickly reared himself backwards a little to lift his talons upwards and grab onto Leavanny's arm.

"Now, use peck!" Niko shouted, thoroughly surprised by Rufflet. The Eaglet Pokémon let go of Leavanny and leapt upwards and forwards, slamming his beak into the Nurturing Pokémon's face. Leavanny recoiled from the force of the attack, grabbing its eyes and trying to recover.

"Use struggle bug!" Burgh shouted, less calmly this time. It was clear that he was just as fired up as Niko and their Pokémon were by now. Leavanny listened, unleashing as beam of energy from its body directly at Rufflet, who once more dodged by spinning to the side, opening his wings, and bursting forward at Leavanny.

"Use wing attack!" Niko shouted, thrusting his hand forward. Rufflet's wings began to glow and he struck Leavanny in the side, causing the Nurturing Pokémon to double over and take a knee on the ground. "Now finish it off with peck!"

"Leavanny, don't give in! Razor leaf!"

"Fight through it, Rufflet! Just like you always do!" Niko shouted. The Eaglet Pokémon charged forward through the air, pecking Leavanny in the side of the head, but also feeling the cuts from razor leaf. Both Pokémon fell to the ground from the force of their attacks. Leavanny fell backwards and crashed onto the floor of the battlefield, while Rufflet crashed and rolled across the field before getting back up, ready for another round. Leavanny, however, wasn't so lucky.

"Leavanny is unable to battle, Rufflet is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Niko let out a great sigh of relief before watching Rufflet glide over to him and land on his shoulder, also breathing out a deep sigh, only this time out of exhaustion. "You did good buddy. That wasn't an easy battle. I'm really proud of you." Rufflet cawed happily, rubbing his head against Niko's.

Burgh and his referee approached Niko just as the latter's friends also joined in. Warren slapped Niko across the back and Sydney congratulated him and Rufflet by petting the Eaglet Pokémon. Charlotte gave him a high-five and Emily verbally congratulated him on his victory.

"Niko, your battling was impressive. I'm glad to have been your opponent. I know Shelmet, Dwebble, and Leavanny enjoyed it as well. Here," He pulled out of his small pant pocket a badge that was shaped like a bright green heart divided three parts. They looked more like the wings and body of an insect, though, which made sense given Burgh's specialty. "I award you with the Insect Badge, as proof of your victory in Castelia City. If you continue challenging gyms, then I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks, Burgh. I enjoyed the battle, too. And I certainly learned a thing or two from it." Niko said, eying the Insect Badge—his third. Turning to his friends, he nodded happily, and spun around on his feet to leave the gym—and Burgh—behind.

"Niko, that's three badges now! Good work!" Warren said, again slapping his roommate on the back. "Now, where next?"

"You tell me, man." Niko said. "We haven't even decided on when we'll leave yet."

"How about in a few days? Does that work for you too, Charlotte?" Warren said, turning to their third companion.

"Yeah, that works for me. Gives me some time to figure out what I can and want to take."

"And it gives me time to pack up my own stuff, too." Niko said, looking again at the Insect Badge. He was officially on a journey again. The single thing he didn't want to get absorbed into. But for the first time in months, he felt better about it.


	14. A familiar face

**Episode 14: A familiar face**

Niko spent the following day packing up and walking around Castelia City with his Pokémon. Around midday, they went to the Pokémon Center's battlefield and spent time training. For the most part, Snivy felt comfortable with her moveset, and spent most of her time working on evasion and speed. Rufflet was working on a move Niko discovered called "hone claws." Lastly, Niko spent most of his time with Roggenrola, whose battling style would be more focused on defense. However Roggenrola, like Rufflet, preferred to fight offensively, rather than defensively.

After working with his Pokémon for some time, he noticed Warren and Charlotte were standing outside of the door leading to the battlefield from the Pokémon Center. Smiling, he waved to them, and noticed that they both began approaching him.

"How's the training going?" Warren asked, slapping Niko across the back.

"Good so far. Rufflet's trying to learn a new move, and I'm trying to figure out where Roggenrola will fit in the team. He wants to be an offensive fighter, but he's built for defense, I think." Niko said, turning to the Mantle Pokémon who was busy working on improving his mud slap attack.

"He'll get it eventually." Warren said. "I'd ask if you wanted to battle, but my Pokémon are a little exhausted. They were running around a lot in Sydney's apartment, and nearly tore her curtains with razor leaf at one point." He said, to which Niko's eyes widened significantly in shock. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. They were a little hyper, and I don't think they're up for battling right now."

"No worries, I don't think they will be either. But I could be wrong—they do nothing but surprise me." Niko said, thinking back to his gym battle with Burgh, where Snivy created her own strategy using leaf tornado as a protective shield. "So, you guys ready to leave tomorrow?"

"Yep! Got everything packed up, I think." Charlotte said with an eager smile. "Smeargle's pretty excited, too!"

"I'm ready. I don't think Sydney is, though. She's a little sad that she can't join us right now. But if you make it to the Unova League she will come and visit to watch!" He said excitedly. "And I promise I'd try to call her whenever we get to a new city."

"Speaking of…where _are_ we going?" Niko asked just as Rufflet accidentally crashed into Roggenrola. "Oh! Rufflet…" Niko said, picking Rufflet off and rubbing some dirt off of his head feather. "You alright?"

Rufflet cawed happily, kicking his way out of Niko's arms and taking flight once more, again diving down towards Roggenrola. Turns out the first collision wasn't an accident at all.

"So if we go north we will eventually reach Nimbasa City." Warren said. "I think there's a gym there, too. But it's a great city supposedly!"

"Yeah, I've been there a couple of times. They have a lot of sporting events, and a ferris wheel, and this thing called the Battle Subway." Charlotte explained. "It'll be fun! We can do a lot of different things!"

"I look forward to it," Niko said with a smile. "And if there's a gym leader there, then we should definitely get ready for that. I can't imagine they'll be easier from here on out."

"No, they aren't." A familiar voice said from the doorway into the Pokémon Center. Niko turned his head to see the origin of the voice that he, somehow, seemed to remember. And he couldn't believe who it was. "Hey Niko, how're you?"

"Elliot?" Niko asked with a raised eyebrow. "What're you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing…" He said, stepping forward. "You challenging the gyms here?"

"Yeah, I have three. You?" Niko asked, standing straight up as Elliot approached. He was still shorter than Niko, but it was clear he had gotten taller since the last time Niko saw him, two years prior at the Silver Conference.

"I just got my third. You said you're going to Nimbasa City? It's an easy enough gym, I thought, but it might have been type advantages, or resistance I guess." Elliot then turned to observe Warren and Charlotte. "Where is your usual group of people? I thought you were with—" Suddenly Niko grabbed Elliot's shoulder and pulled him aside, out of earshot from his new companions.

"They think I'm new to this trainer thing." Niko whispered to his former rival.

"Why? Are you lying to them?" Elliot asked.

"Yes I am. I'd rather not go into the details." He continued to whisper. "Just…if you're going to engage in conversation with them, please leave out our past."

"Geez Niko…whatever works for you." Elliot then straightened up a little. "I think Fay mentioned something about you leaving Pallet Town. He didn't seem very happy about it, but it seems you'd rather not discuss it, so I'll leave it at that." He then turned to Warren and Charlotte finally. "Sorry about that. I'm Elliot, an old friend of Niko's from Kanto." He said, approaching Warren first and shook his hand.

"Warren, roommate of Niko's. How do you know Niko?"

"He's friends with a relative of mine, so we've seen each other on occasion. But it's been years, right Niko? I had no idea he lived in Unova now." He said, glaring at his former rival. Niko nodded silently, confirming that the details Elliot was giving was correct.

"Oh, I see. It seems a few of Niko's friends from Pallet Town are showing up. We met this woman named Sabrina down in Virbank City. Guess Niko was popular back home!"

"Well, I guess so…" Elliot said plainly. "Hey, Niko, since we're here, and both challenging gyms, how about a battle? Just to see where we're at. You game?"

Niko deep down would have said yes in a heartbeat, since Elliot was the one rival besides Hunter that he had a need to defeat. Unlike Hunter, though, Niko and Elliot had a mutual respect for one another. And Niko couldn't blame anyone but himself for losing to Elliot way back at the Silver Conference. He was also a far more experienced trainer than Niko was, but not outside of the realm of potential victory. With that said, he accepted Elliot's challenge.

"Sure, why not?" Niko said with a smirk. "I've never gotten a chance to battle you. Let's say a two-on-two?"

Elliot nodded. "Fine by me. I'll use some Pokémon that I've recently caught. I'd like to try them out against different Pokémon, and I haven't really seen any of your Pokémon before."

Warren and Charlotte, suddenly excited by the prospect of a battle, sat down on the benches near the middle of the battlefield as Niko and Elliot took to opposite ends of the battlefield. Niko had returned his team to their pokéballs, and waited for Elliot to choose his first.

"Mienfoo, I choose you!" Elliot shouted, summoning a small yellow mustelid-like Pokémon with round ears, red eyes, and a pink nose with a whisker on each side. Its red arms look similar to flared sleeves, and the paws are yellow.

" _Mienfoo, the Martial Arts Pokémon. Fighting type. It takes pride in the speed at which it can use moves. What it loses in power, it makes up for in quantity_."

"Fighting type, huh? Rufflet, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning the Eaglet Pokémon, who was eager as always to fight. "Use wing attack!"

"Mienfoo, use swift!" Elliot commanded. The Martial Arts Pokémon then thrust its palms forward, shooting bright yellow stars from the palms at Rufflet, who endured the attack before crashing into his opponent. "Force palm!"

"Fury attack!" Niko shouted, but it was unsuccessful, since Mienfoo took hold of Rufflet and tossed him into the wall separating the Pokémon Center from the rest of Castelia City. The Eaglet Pokémon slumped to the ground, but quickly got back up again, ready to continue fighting. "That's the spirit, Rufflet! Use wing attack again!"

"Mienfoo, drain punch!" Elliot shouted. It was then Niko realized that Elliot, who had been previously a stickler for type advantaging, wasn't letting up here, even though he had the disadvantage. It confused Niko.

"Rufflet, swerve to the side and dodge it, and then follow up with peck!" Niko shouted, forcing a change in his Pokémon's attack. Rufflet attempted to swerve, but Mienfoo lowered her free hand under the one with drain punch and used force palm to quickly take command of Rufflet, holding the Eaglet Pokémon in place.

"Now, drain punch!" Elliot commanded. A brown and white swirling aura surrounded Mienfoo's fist as it slammed into Rufflet's face, instantly absorbing his energy. "Now, finish Rufflet off with swift!"

The Martial Arts Pokémon, while still holding onto Rufflet with force palm, shot the Eaglet Pokémon with a round of yellow stars, launching him across the field and to Niko's feet, where Rufflet rolled for a little before landing in the dust.

"Rufflet, can you continue?" Niko asked, crouching down. Rufflet nodded, but Niko knew that he couldn't. So he returned Rufflet, and the Eaglet Pokémon didn't protest. Looking up at Elliot he nodded, indicating that he was ready for the next round, and pulled out a second pokéball as he stood up. "Snivy, let's go!"

"Mienfoo, return." Elliot said, exchanging Mienfoo's pokéball for a second one. "Deino, I choose you!" He said, summoning a small quadrupedal Pokémon with black fur covering its head and neck, concealing everything but its mouth from view. It was roughly two feet in height, and Niko thought it looked deceivingly adorable.

" _Deino, the Irate Pokémon. Dark and dragon type. Lacking sight, it's unaware of its surroundings, so it bumps into things and eats anything that moves_."

"Woah…" Niko said. "Just like Fay, I guess. This is something he'd get." Niko then smirked.

"I guess so. He is a dragon trainer, that is. Deino, dragon rage!" Elliot commanded, thrusting his hand out as he did so. Deino opened its mouth and unleashed a burst of purple and orange fire at Snivy, who protected herself with leaf tornado hoping to minimize the damage. This time she failed, and was knocked off of her feet from the fire. "Interesting tactic…but you should know dragon rage is literally a burst of fire, Niko. Deino, use headbutt!"

The Irate Pokémon charged forward, albeit slowly, which gave Snivy a chance to get back up and prepare for her next move. Niko then commanded her to wrap Deino in vine whip and throw him, similar to how they dealt with Cheren's Lillipup back in Aspertia City. Snivy obliged, dashing forward and, when she got closer to Deino, quickly into the air and wrapped her opponent around the torso. She then proceeded to flip Deino, but found herself letting go and spinning wildly through the air before crashing into the ground.

"Snivy!" Niko shouted just as Deino spun back around and unleashed a dragonbreath attack on Elliot's command. Snivy spun back onto her feet and rolled to the side to evade the attack. Watching this, Elliot smirked.

"You've seen Fay practice with that evasion technique of his. Well done, Niko. Deino, use headbutt!"

"Snivy, offensive leaf tornado!" Niko shouted, finally distinguishing between the two types of leaf tornado that Snivy could use. The Grass Snake Pokémon somersaulted through the air and shot a tornado of green leaves at Deino, halting the already slow Pokémon in its tracks. However, it didn't stop the Irate Pokémon, who shot out a dragon rage while Snivy was landing from the leaf tornado, catching her off of her feet and forcing her to crash onto the battlefield.

"Use dragonbreath!" Elliot shouted. Deino launched a final attack that hit Snivy directly in the face, keeping her down. Elliot returned Deino and looked back at Niko. "Your Pokémon are strong, that's for sure, but you've got a lot to work on, I think. Keep it up, though."

"Snivy, return. You did a great job." Niko said before turning to Elliot. "Thanks, Elliot. I appreciate that. Your Pokémon are really strong. You should be proud of yourself."

"I am. They make all of this worth it." He said, smiling down at Deino's pokéball.

"Do you still have Scizor with you?" Niko asked. He got a nod in response.

"Yep. I don't use him as often since I'm trying to raise new kinds of Pokémon, but Scizor is certainly travelling with me." As Elliot said this, Niko noticed him grabbing something on his wrist, but he couldn't identify what it was. "Deino at first was a handful to train, and so Scizor helped me put the little guy in his place."

"I'm glad Scizor is doing well. It was impressive at the Silver Conference."

"It was. That's for sure. That was an interesting Pokémon tournament. Scizor fondly remembers battling this one trainer's Feraligatr and Venusaur. They put up a fight." He let go of the thing on his wrist before looking up at Niko. "Hopefully we can face it again in the future."

Niko tilted his head in mock confusion. "Well, I hope you get that chance."

"I hope so too. Catch ya later, Niko." Elliot said. "Nice meeting you two as well. Keep him in line, will ya?"

"You got it." Warren said with a smirk. "It was great meeting you as well!" He continued with a wave.

After Elliot left, Niko healed up his Pokémon and then got lunch with Warren and Charlotte. The three finalized their plans for leaving, deciding to meet up at the northern part of the city in the late morning the following day. When he got back to his apartment, Niko surveyed the area—how empty it looked, bar the furniture. Everything was now with Sydney—the few personal possessions Niko took with him from Kanto to Unova.

Before going to bed that night, he took another look at the Basic, Toxic, and Insect Badges. He then watched Snivy, Rufflet, and Roggenrola all sleeping on, next to, or at his bedside.

The next morning, Niko approached the northern border of Castelia City, only to find Charlotte, Emily, Warren, and Sydney all standing there, waiting for him. They all looked relatively well-rested and ready to go. The same air that consumed his surroundings when he left on his two previous journeys from Castelia City was present once again. This time, it didn't make Niko feel anxious. He felt happier; satisfied. However, he couldn't help but think about what Elliot told him. Did he truly make the wrong decision in leaving Pallet Town? If he ever got to challenge Elliot in another official battle, could he still count on the Pokémon with whom he had the closest relationship? If he ever went back to Pallet Town, would Venusaur and Feraligatr forgive him? Would the others?

He also knew that one day, sometime in the future, he would eventually have to tell Charlotte and Warren about his past. He felt uncomfortable at the thought of it—he was afraid of how they might react to him lying. How _do_ they react to lying under other circumstances?

Shaking his head, he turned his neutral expression into a positive one. Charlotte and Warren responded in kind.

"You both ready?" Warren eventually said.

"Yeah!" Charlotte said excitedly, Smeargle responding happily at her side. Then all eyes turned to Niko.

"I'm ready when you both are."

"Be careful, you three." Emily said, hugging Warren and Niko. When she got to Niko, she spoke quietly to him. "Please watch out for Charlotte for me."

"I will. I promise." Niko said. Emily nodded with a satisfied smile before Sydney approached him. "Thanks for helping us out, with the moving and all that."

"Don't worry. Just make sure you get to the Unova League."

"Oh yeah, Warren told me you'd come to watch it." Niko said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'll be there to see you win it all!" She said confidently before hugging Niko. "Best of luck."

Niko then let go of Sydney and walked forward, with Warren and Charlotte flanking both sides. They all waved to their friends and family and then turned northwards towards their first destination—Nimbasa City.


	15. The Relic Castle

**Episode 15: The Relic Castle**

The path to Nimbasa City runs through route 4, which looked more like a city than an actual route. It would take roughly a couple of days to get through to Nimbasa City, and that was being generous, according to Niko's observations.

It was generous because route 4 was built on a desert. It was unusually hot, dry, and sandy. Niko, who had always enjoyed the beach growing up due to its rarity in Kanto, quickly found the sand annoying. Charlotte and Warren, on the other hand, disliked it from the start, but didn't complain much about it until they took a rest a couple of hours in to their journey. During the late afternoon they sat under a highway that provided them with plenty of shade for them, bathing them in cooled air.

"Niko…this'll be rough." Warren eventually said, finishing his water canteen. They had all expected dry weather when they were preparing to leave Castelia City, but didn't seem to bring enough supplies. "We'll need some more water for this, I think."

"We should look for a river nearby. Maybe one exists." Niko suggested with a shrug. "Plus, you're the only one with a water type. Poliwag can keep us cooled down, right?"

Warren's head snapped up to Niko's level, as if a lightbulb turned on in his head. "That's right! Why didn't I think of that?" He asked himself, picking up Poliwag's pokéball and summoning the Tadpole Pokémon. "Hey, Poliwag, can you use water gun on me?"

Poliwag tilted his head in confusion, as if not quite understanding Warren's question. Nevertheless, he obeyed, and sprayed his trainer with a jet of water.

"Oh! Poliwag, stop!" Warren said in a gurgling tone. Poliwag ended the attack and looked upon his trainer's now drenched hair and face. "Okay…maybe not the best idea…" He turned to Niko and Charlotte, who were both laughing from the situation. "Oh, stop. It's hot outside."

"Yeah, it is. What you did doesn't sound like a half bad idea. Your response to it was what made us laugh." Niko explained. Warren then turned to Poliwag and nodded. The Tadpole Pokémon then nodded, turned to Niko, and sprayed him with water. When the water gun finished, Niko rubbed his eyes and wiped excess water off his face before looking at his friends. "That didn't feel bad. Kind of cold, but it's better that way. Thanks, Poliwag."

"Poli!" Poliwag said with a cheery expression.

The trio then got back on their feet and continued walking north. While they did so, they noticed construction companies building up new apartment buildings with the help of Pokémon. At one point, Niko noticed a species that he didn't recognize, and pulled out his pokédex to view the creature, which was a short, humanoid Pokémon with a massive I-beam girder in its arms:

" _Gurdurr, the muscular Pokémon. Fighting type. With strengthened bodies, they skillfully wield steel beams to take down buildings_."

"They look kind of like Machoke…" Niko observed. "But without the steel beam in its hands."

"True. Machoke aren't very common around Unova. I wonder how closely they're related…" Charlotte added, likely thinking back to a class she took in school. "I think we learned something about them, but I can't quite remember."

"No worries. I just thought I'd check it out to see what kind of Pokémon it was." Niko said, pocketing his pokédex. "Let's keep going."

By the end of the day, they had made it through the city under construction and into the larger desert beyond. And as such, finding a place to spend the night was difficult. Eventually, the trio found a small rocky overhang to sit under, after several hours of searching. Once more, Poliwag sprayed Niko and Warren with water. Charlotte managed to stay cool with her own reserve of water, which she didn't waste, compared with her two companions.

Niko looked out from their overhang to the desert beyond. He never really had a good time in the desert. His first time he got separated from his friends and brother back in Hoenn, or had to traverse the desert on Battle Island, after which he met up with Hunter…

He shook his head, turning his blank expression into more of a frown. He looked down at his bag, which contained his three pokéballs. He chose to keep his Pokémon in their pokéballs during this trip, since it was so hot and dry outside. He then turned to see Warren falling asleep next to Poliwag, and Charlotte reading something under the light of Smeargle's ember attack. To kill time, Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine a small green cactus-like Pokémon nearby:

" _Maractus, the Cactus Pokémon. Grass type. When it moves rhythmically, it makes a sound similar to maracas, making the surprised Pokémon flee._ "

"I've never seen a Maractus up close." Charlotte said. "But I've heard their sounds in a music class once. They're more pleasant than you'd imagine."

"I see." Niko said plainly, putting his pokédex away. "What're you reading?"

"A book on Unova geography. I bought it at a book store in Castelia City. I figured it might be useful on our adventure." She held the cover of the book up, which was just a picture of the Unova region. "See?"

Niko squinted a little to get a better look at the book, and nodded. "Looks good. Have you found anything interesting about this place?" He asked with an amused expression, motioning out towards the desert and expecting his friend to say nothing.

"Actually…" She said, flipping through the pages. "There is the Relic Castle. Ever heard of it?"

"Nope. What is it?" Niko asked, slightly curious. Usually he didn't encounter anything of significance in the desert.

"According to this book, the Relic Castle is a large castle, buried in sand, and the ruins of a city that is said to be over 2,500 years old. There are several floors and labyrinthine hallways deep down in the Relic Castle. Somewhere, hidden deep within it lies an extraordinarily powerful Pokémon." She looked up. "Sounds interesting, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but don't tell Warren. He might want to visit it."

"Oh, and you don't?" Charlotte said with an amused face.

"I—I mean, I don't _not_ want to visit it. I'm sure it'd be great, but I'd rather not have to spend another night out in the desert. Do you want to go see it?"

"Kind of…" Charlotte said. "At least, just what we can. I don't think we need to go inside it, in case we get lost you know?"

"Yeah, I getcha." Niko said. "Fine, we'll go check it out in the morning. Does it show where in the desert the Relic Castle is?"

"I don't know…" Charlotte flipped through the pages some more before clearly finding what she was looking for." I don't know exactly where we are in relation to it, but it looks like it's somewhere to the northwestern part of the desert, so…" She looked up and pointed. "That direction."

Niko turned to see where her finger was pointing, and nodded. "Got it, we'll go in that direction in the morning, and then check out the Relic Castle." He then laid down. "Good night, Charlotte."

"Night, Niko." Charlotte said, continuing to read when Niko went to bed.

* * *

"So…this is it?" Warren asked as they stared at the small circular structure sitting in front of them. It looked akin to a well made of sandstone, with a half-sphere roof and a longer pole sticking out of the roof. "This is the Relic Castle?"

"Yes, looks like it." Charlotte said, looking at her book. "This is apparently the very top of the castle…it's all buried in the sand below us…"

Niko and Warren looked down at their feet, wondering how far down the castle went. Then Warren took a step forward and was about to enter the structure when not only Charlotte yelled out for him to stop, but the trio heard voices below.

"What the…?" Warren said, peering down into the top of the Relic Castle. He turned to Niko and Charlotte and silently motioned for them to come over as well. "Check this out…" He said, pointing downwards. Niko looked over to see a deep drop—he didn't know how far down—into the Castle. On the floor was a group of young men and women in dark gray long-sleeves and leggings with black sleeveless vests. Niko couldn't confirm, but they seemed to be wearing covering over their mouths. Lastly, they were all wearing black caps with a silver "x" on them.

"Who're they…?" Niko asked. Charlotte was the only one who seemed to have an answer. She pulled Niko away from the edge of the structure and back onto the sand. "That's Team Plasma."

"Who's Team Plasma?" Niko asked in a whisper.

"They're a famous gang here in Unova. Several years ago, they tried to "liberate" all Pokémon from their trainers, either by convincing the trainer to release their Pokémon, or by simple theft. I knew people growing up who had their Pokémon taken from them. It really hurt them."

"What happened to them? You seem surprised that they're around."

"Their leader was arrested years ago after summoning the legendary Pokémon Reshiram. As for what happened to them, I don't really know. I thought they had disbanded, but I've read rumors online about them coming back." She said. Meanwhile, Warren was picking up on what they were saying.

"What's going on Warren?" Niko whispered, walking back over to the structure and looking over the edge. "Oh…oh man." He said, watching what was happening below. The members of Team Plasma looked like they were about to fight one another. "Are they battling?"

"Looks like it…no, no they're not." Warren said as the members all turned to see a massive moth-like Pokémon hovering close to them. "What Pokémon is that?" He said, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Volcarona, the Sun Pokémon. Bug and fire type. Thought to be an embodiment of the sun, it appeared during a bitterly cold winter and saved Pokémon from freezing_."

"That thing is enormous…" Charlotte whispered. Suddenly she let out a gasp when the Volcarona unleashed a wave of fire in every direction, blowing the Team Plasma members and their Pokémon away. The Pokémon—Niko didn't recognize any of them—briefly lit on fire to indicate that they were burned.

"Looks like Volcarona is trying to fend them off. Should we help?" Warren said, pulling out a pokéball.

"No. The drop is too far and the only Pokémon of ours that could scale that is Rufflet, and I'd rather not risk having only one of our Pokémon fight those guys. We don't know how strong they are, and it's clear Volcarona is not to be messed with. Let's just go and let them get beaten by this thing." Niko said, finally standing up. Charlotte and Warren stood up as well, not willing to challenge their friend's resolve.

Niko wasn't about to deal with another Pokémon Gang. Throughout his years travelling, he's dealt with too many people with evil intentions. The last thing he wanted was to find himself embroiled in another world-ending situation.

"So, I did pick up a bit of what they were saying…" Warren admitted, eliciting Charlotte and Niko's curious glares. "Yeah, they were talking about finding this—geez, what was it—this…this book, I think. They said the only place they could find the book was in the Relic Castle. Apparently, they're trying to get their hands on this object, and the book will help them find it. None of it made any sense."

"That's just fine. Maybe we can alert the Police when we get to Nimbasa City?" Charlotte suggested as they trudged through the desert.

"Sounds good to me." Niko added, looking down at the sand with his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to get involved with Team Plasma, but he had been through enough to know that Team Plasma was up to something serious. Niko wanted to learn more, but he had to push away his curiosity for the moment. He had a gym battle coming up.

"So, we should get to Nimbasa City by the end of the day, I think." Charlotte said after a long, prolonged silence. Niko nodded, clearly still in thought. "Niko…?"

"Hmm?" Niko asked, looking at Charlotte.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine. Just curious about Team Plasma."

"Worried that they'll do something bad?" She asked.

"No, absolutely not worried. I've just had an interest in these evil organizations. Team Rocket is big in Kanto, and they just don't seem to go away, for whatever reason."

"Oh yeah I've heard of them. They're just crazy. Apparently like three or four years ago Mewtwo was unleashed in Viridian City. Do you know anything about that?"

Niko, eyes suddenly widening a little bit, quickly shook his head. "I heard some things, but it wasn't widely talked about where I'm from."

"Oh, alright. I heard some trainers beat Team Rocket. Must've been pretty brave to do that."

"I suppose." Niko said. "Anyway, I'll try not to worry about Team Plasma." He said with a nervous smile. Charlotte seemed to be satisfied with that response, and the trio went silent for much of the journey to Nimbasa City.

By nightfall, they managed to make it to the outskirts of the city. Just as they did so, Niko doubled over from exhaustion—they had been walking for most of the day. He had never remembered being so exhausted, but he made sure him and his friends made it to the Pokémon Center as quickly as possible so that he could immediately crash onto his bed in the dormitory room. He then immediately fell asleep.


	16. Feeling good

**Episode 16: Feeling good**

Niko woke up the following morning feeling more rested. When he woke up, Charlotte was already up, reading her book. Warren was also up and presumably out doing something else, as he was not in the room.

"Where'd Warren go?" Niko asked, less groggily than he usually sounded.

"Warren's off getting tickets to a sports game." Charlotte said. "Today there's a basketball game he wants to go see. I think they're called the Icirrus Beartics. Nimbasa is famous for having the biggest stadium in the world. They always hold championships for all sporting events, which kind of pisses off other major cities in the world, and understandably so." Charlotte said, clearly repeating from her book. "He wanted to know if we wanted to go with him."

"Do you?" Niko asked.

"Sure, I'm fine with it. I've never seen a professional basketball game up close anyways." She shrugged. "But it looks like Nimbasa City has a lot of really interesting things to do. There's the Battle Subway, the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel, and a Musical Theater. Plus, of course, the gym."

"I think we should check out the Battle Subway today, maybe before the basketball game?" Niko suggested.

"I'd like to check out the Ferris Wheel, if you and Warren are up for it." Charlotte added. "But I'm fine with going to the Battle Subway. Not sure how useful I'd be there, though."

"Oh you'd be plenty useful. Smeargle can learn _any_ move!" Niko said.

"True, but she hardly ever battles." Charlotte said, looking a little dismayed.

"Well, if we end up in a multi-battle together, then I've got you." Niko said reassuringly. "We'll win for sure."

"Think so?" Charlotte asked.

"I know so." Niko said. "Now, let's get going, we've got a busy day."

The two got dressed and joined Warren out in the lobby. He had luckily grabbed three tickets for the Icirrus Beartics game that afternoon. Then, Charlotte and Niko told him of their plan for the day, and he had no problem with it.

"Should be a fun day, and then tomorrow Niko can challenge the Nimbasa Gym, right?" Warren asked. "I heard it's an electric type gym, too!"

"Oh, great." Niko said. "But I guess I'll be fine. I have enough faith in Snivy and Roggenrola to run this match. I don't think Rufflet would be the best choice."

"That fair." Warren said with a smile. "Plus, aren't electric types typically faster? Snivy can probably keep up with the typical electric type."

"She can." Niko said. "And if she can't, we'll work on it. But I doubt that'll be the case." Niko said, suddenly surprised by his own optimism. He thought about it for a moment, and realized that this journey has been what he needed to get back on his feet. A few consecutive wins, loyal friends, and a good relationship with his Pokémon. While it's true that he had those before he quit months ago, Niko felt better about his position in life now. He felt more confident in himself. He wasn't the only one to notice this newfound optimism. Warren raised an eyebrow as well as Charlotte. But nothing was said of this development, and instead the group stood up and left the Pokémon Center to start their day.

Nimbasa City was a smaller city than Castelia City is. From Niko's perspective, it was roughly the size of Celadon City in Kanto, or Lilycove City in Hoenn. The evening prior—when they arrived in Nimbasa City—they noticed the lights from the stadiums, the Ferris Wheel, and a litany of other attractions. The city was more entertainment-based than any other city Niko has visited, and it was surely a sight to see.

The Ferris Wheel was in the eastern part of the city, on a strip of land that sat above a large river. It was at the far end of the strip of land, overlooking the river. To get there, the trio passed by a massive inflatable Pikachu, a neon-blue building with a glowing roof, and another inflatable Pokémon that Charlotte and Warren identified as an Audino.

"Hello, may we have three tickets for the Ferris Wheel?" Warren asked as they approached the ticket stand. It was a small rectangular structure with a man sitting inside of it behind a glass window with a small circular opening at the bottom of it.

"Ferris Wheel isn't open this early in the morning. Come back later." The man at the ticket stand said in a bored and slightly irritated tone.

"But…"

"No buts. Come back later, please." He said, turning away to do something else.

"Well, that was rude." Niko said as the trio turned around. "What should we do now?" He asked as they walked back down the strip again.

"I guess we could check out the Battle Subway. We've only got a couple of hours before the game starts, anyways." Warren shrugged.

"Sounds good to me. I don't think we'll be there very long." Niko said.

The Battle Subway was located in Gear Station, a massive two-story building with a dark green roof. Tall poles with different flags stood surrounding Gear Station. The trio walked inside the large entranceway and into lobby room with a ticket stand in the back. They looked around at their surroundings, noting the number of trainers and Pokémon interacting with one another.

Niko then approached the ticket stand. "Hello, we're looking to participate in the Battle Subway. How do we sign up?"

"Oh, of course sir." The lady at the stand said. "You just need to tell me which type of battle you wish to participate in, and where you want to go."

"Where we want to go…?" Niko asked curiously.

"Oh, well the Battle Subway is still a subway. As in, it takes people to other parts of Unova." She said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Got it." He turned to Charlotte and Warren, who both shrugged in response. "I guess it doesn't matter. We've got a couple hours to spare."

"Alright…" She said lazily, as if she knew Niko was making a mistake. "What type of battles? Single, double, or multi?"

Niko turned to Charlotte and Warren again. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Err…how about this, Niko. I'll go ahead and grab our seats for the game, and you and Charlotte do the multi battle?"

"Why Charlotte and I?" Niko asked.

"Because you need the training and Charlotte has expressed interest in the Battle Subway." Warren said. "Go on, I'll catch ya later." He said.

"Uh…alright then." Niko said, turning to look down at Charlotte, who shrugged. "You up for it?"

"I guess so. I mean, I don't know how helpful I'll be to you, but I'll give it a shot." She said.

"Good luck you two. I'll see you both at the stadium!" Warren said before running out of Gear Station, leaving a confused Niko and Charlotte.

"Okay, well we'll do the multi battle." Niko said, and the very bored ticket lady produced two tickets, one for the each of them. "Thank you." He then gave one of the tickets to Charlotte and the two were off to find their subway station. Walking past the ticket stand they took a couple flights of stairs down to the bottom floor, which was a large circular room with several tunnels running in nearly every direction, each with trains running in and out of the tunnels.

"Which one is ours?" Charlotte asked, looking at her ticket. "Station 8…is it that one over there?" She asked, pointing to the station to their immediate left. "Yes, looks like it." The two walked over to the station, flashed their tickets to the conductor, and entered the closest subway cart.

The Battle Subway looked like any ordinary train cart. There were cushioned seats lining the sides of the cart, underneath glass windows. The only difference was the aisles were larger than an ordinary train cart, for obvious reasons. Niko and Charlotte took seats down and waited for the train to start moving. Once it did, every other person on the train stood up and started talking with one another, supposedly with an interest in battling.

"Hey, you!" A short black-haired boy said to Niko. "Let's battle!"

"Sure, kid. You've got a partner?" He asked.

"Err, no…" He said.

"Niko, I'm fine with watching." Charlotte said politely. Niko shrugged before standing up.

"Alright, let's go. One on one?"

"Yeah!" The kid said, pulling out a pokéball. "Pansage, I choose you!" He said, summoning a small green simian Pokémon with a small bush-like thing on its head.

" _Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Grass type. It's good at finding berries and gathers them from all over. It's find enough to share them with friends_."

"Rufflet, let's go!" Niko said, summoning his faithful Eaglet Pokémon. "Let's start off with hone claws!"

"Pansage, vine whip!" The kid said. The Grass Monkey shot out twin green vines from its hands at Rufflet, who slashed at them with hone claws before diving down and crashing into Pansage with wing attack. "Oh no! Use seed bomb!"

Pansage conjured a large seed-shaped object and slammed it down on Rufflet's back, who was not able to evade the attack. The kid then called for Pansage to use vine whip once more, to which Rufflet retaliated with fury attack by spinning around onto his back and slashing at the vines again with his talons.

"Rufflet, get back into the air and use peck!" Niko shouted. Rufflet obliged, somersaulting backwards before launching himself towards the ceiling of the train cart and then diving back down, beak glowing bright white. He collided with Pansage, hitting the Grass Monkey in the forehead and knocking it over before swooping back up into the air, right in front of Niko. Pansage collapsed onto the ground, unable to battle."

"Pansage…" The kid said, sniffling a little. "Are you alright?" He said. Feeling bad, Niko walked over and knelt down next to the kid.

"You did a good job, though." He said, patting the kid's shoulder. "You just need more practice, but don't give up, alright?"

The kid nodded, returning his Pansage. "You-you're right. One day my Pansage will be the strongest ever!"

"That's the spirit." Niko said, helping the kid back up. "You just have to keep practicing, and keep finding ways to get stronger. Catching other types of Pokémon helps, too." He said as Rufflet perched himself on Niko's shoulder.

"Thanks sir! I promise I'll keep training!" The kid said before running off, presumably to whoever he was with before. Niko then sat down, with Rufflet perching himself in between his trainer and Charlotte.

"That was fun." Niko said with a smile. And he was, truly, satisfied. He felt good about helping a young kid out.

"Yeah, true. You seem at peace." Charlotte said. "It's different from how you have been the past few weeks."

"For some reason I have been. I can't explain it." Niko said, leaning back in his cushioned seat, trying to understand the reason why he was so optimistic recently. It could be that he was exhausted the previous evening and then getting the right amount of sleep. That, to him, was the most plausible explanation. But Niko also considered the possibility that he might just be content because he was doing what he loved—travelling the world with his friends and Pokémon.

He didn't have much time to consider it, since he and Charlotte were approached by two tall men—one in a black conductor outfit and the other in a white conductor outfit. Each man had a long coat with their respective color striped with a pale red-orange color. Each peered down at Niko with squinted eyes.

"Hello?" Niko asked.

"We noticed how easily you beat that kid's Pokémon." The man in white said.

"And we believe we've seen you from somewhere else…Hey, Emmet, where did you say we saw this guy?"

"I can't remember Ingo, but this guy is good, that's for sure." The man named Emmet responded. "C'mon, do you and your girlfriend accept our challenge for a battle?"

"First off, she isn't my girlfriend." Niko said defensively. "Second off, I'm quite sure I've never met either of you before, so there's no way you know who I am."

"Oh, but we do. Now, let's see those powerful Pokémon of yours." Ingo said with a smirk. "Now, do you accept?"

"No, I do not." Niko said defensively.

"Actually Niko, he's right." Charlotte said, much to Niko's surprise. "You are a strong trainer, let's battle them."

"But you don't want to…" Niko said with shock. "You told me you didn't want to battle."

"Now I do. Let's go." Charlotte said, standing up. "We accept."

"Excellent." Emmet said, clasping Charlotte's hands. "We are Ingo and Emmet, the Subway Bosses!" They both said, standing side by side and striking a pose with their hands, thrusting them to each side in a "dabbing"-like motion. "And now, we will battle it out in the Battle Subway!" They both pulled out pokéballs and simultaneously summoned a Pokémon.

Ingo sent out a large chandelier-like Pokémon with yellow, pupil-less eyes and purple flames coming out of its centerpiece and the four arms. Emmet sent out an eel-like Pokémon that looked akin to a lamprey. It had long, tentacle-like, finned limbs extending from its head. It had a beige fin on the upper portion of its body and beige fin-like legs below. Lastly, it had red eyes, a dark blue body, and possessed clawed, paddle-like arms with yellow spots and yellow-and-red palms.

" _Chandelure, the Luring Pokémon. Ghost and fire type. The spirits burning up in its ominous flame lose their way and wander this world forever_."

" _Eelektross, the EleFish Pokémon. Electric type. It latches on to prey with its sucker mouth, sinking in its fangs and shocking the prey with powerful electricity_."

"Those are some cool Pokémon." Niko said observantly. "Snivy, let's go!"

"Smeargle, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, summoning her Painter Pokémon. "Niko, you first." She said politely.

"Alright. Snivy, use leaf tornado on Eelektross!" Niko commanded.

"Smeargle, ember on Eelektross!" Charlotte called out. In response, Ingo's Chandelure jumped in front of its partner, absorbing both attacks and dealing no damage. It then used a move called hex, which allowed it to summon a sphere of black energy with a red eye in the middle and launch it at Snivy, who took the hit and was launched backwards through the car. "Smeargle, sketch hex!" Charlotte shouted, knowing that the move would be effective. "Now, use hex on Chandelure!"

"Chandelure, use will-o-wisp on Smeargle!" Ingo commanded.

"Eelektross, acid on Snivy!" Emmet shouted. The EleFish Pokémon shout out purple liquid at Snivy, who was just recovering from the hex attack. Fortunately, she was able to dodge the move by rolling to her left, behind Niko, and then bursting forward and lunging at the electric type, using leaf tornado up close. "Thunderbolt!" Emmet commanded. The Elefish Pokémon launched a surge of electricity from its body into Snivy's, electrocuting her and forcing her into the ground. Her skin was singed in a few spots, and she had difficulty standing back up.

"Snivy, you can do it. We can keep going." Niko said calmly, just as Smeargle got burned by Chandelure for the second time before getting hit by a psychic attack immediately after. Charlotte looked worried for her Pokémon. Niko turned from her back to Snivy. "For Charlotte and Smeargle, we need to get back up, Snivy. C'mon, you can do it…" He said just as the cart was suddenly bathed in a bright white glow.

Snivy slowly made her way on to her feet before beginning to grow to twice her size. Like Snivy, she was bipedal and primarily green with a cream green underside, and narrow red eyes. The yellow leaves on her neck were now forming into a V-shape that started at the chest and extended behind her shoulders. Her limbs remained short, but she began to form a small crest on the back of her head. Lastly, three palmate leaves grew along her back and tail.

" _Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Grass type. When it gets dirty, its leaves can't be used in photosynthesis, so it always keeps itself clean_."

"Servine, eh?" Niko asked, putting away his pokédex. "Charlotte," He said, turning to his friend. "Let's win this."

She nodded.

"Servine, use leaf tornado on Eelektross!" Niko shouted, thrusting his hand out.

"Smeargle, hex on Chandelure!" Charlotte called out. Both Pokémon attacked their respective targets before Eelektross used discharge, electrifying everyone Pokémon around it. Chandelure then used psychic to take control of Smeargle and launch her into Servine, slamming both against the window of the moving train cart.

"Ingo, let's finish this." Emmet said. "Eelektross, acid!"

"Chandelure, use flamethrower!" Ingo commanded. Both attacks struck Servine and Smeargle, ultimately defeating them once the two slumped down off of the cushioned seats and onto the cold floor of the train cart.

"Well then…" Emmet said, returning Eelektross. "I should have expected better from you, Niko from Pallet Town." He said with a smirk, raising his white conductor's cap.

"How do you know who Niko is?" Charlotte asked, demanding to know.

"We keep up to date on up and coming trainers, in the event that they ever visit this Battle Subway. The real question is, how do you _not_ know Niko?" When Charlotte looked confused, Emmet looked like he was about to elaborate when suddenly the train began to slow down. "Ooh, looks like we've arrived at our destination!"

"Our 'destination?'" Niko asked, thankful to not be on the previous subject—they clearly knew who he was.

"Anville Town. That's the destination. You didn't know that?" Ingo asked, genuinely confused. When Niko and Charlotte turned to each other with confused expressions, he let out a short, but prominent, laugh. "Ohoh! That's rich, Emmet. Anyway, you might want to consult with the ticket office for the next train back to Nimbasa City." He said, leaving the cart with Emmet. "Thanks for the battle, by the way. You're certainly not the trainer we thought you were."

"Yeah, we thought you were actually good." Emmet said with a smile. "Oh well."

Then they disappeared from the cart, leaving Niko and Charlotte with their defeated Pokémon.

"So…Niko…" Charlotte said, suddenly whipping her book on the Unova region out. "We're, uh…really far away."

"How far away…?" Niko asked, peering over Charlotte's shoulder. She pointed to Anville Town, which was in the far northwest part of Unova. For comparison, Nimbasa City was close to the center. "Oh no. Oh no no no. So you mean to say we're stuck."

"Yep." Charlotte said. "We're stuck."

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah, Ingo and Emmet are kind of jerks to Niko. I always took them to be kind of haughty people, but i've also never really seen them in the games or anime. Also, the reason for Warren just straight up leaving Niko and Charlotte behind was a little weird (even when writing it!), but there's a purpose behind it, even if it doesn't immediately seem clear. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Two of our three friends are stuck in the middle of nowhere, and Niko is worried about his past coming to light again. So the next episode should be exciting!**


	17. The explanation

**Episode 17: The explanation**

Niko was pacing back and forth on the train cart in a minor state of panic. There they were, in Anville Town, hundreds of miles away from Nimbasa City, where Warren was—and all of their stuff. While he was busy panicking, Charlotte flipped through her book to find out more about Anville Town—all for vain, though.

"There isn't much on this place, other than it's a resting stop for trains. Which is odd, since it's so far outside of the rest of the region." She said. "Let's get off, first, and then figure out our next steps…Niko?" She asked, looking up from her book. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not!" He said, raising his voice a little, shocking Charlotte. "We're in the middle of nowhere, Warren has no idea, and we're going to be late to the game!"

"It's just a game…"

"But it's a commitment, Charlotte!" Niko said, now nearly shouting. "When someone invites you to something, you make damn sure you go!"

"Okay, first off don't yell at me." She said decisively, slamming her book together and forcing it into her bag. "Secondly, I get the commitment thing. But we need to worry about getting back to Nimbasa first. Not about whether or not we'll meet our commitment. Warren will understand. We just didn't know where we were going or how long it would take. And on the positive side, maybe there's a train that immediately goes back."

Niko calmed down, looking more ashamed than anything. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Don't be, it's fine." She said, patting him on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's go." She said, leading the way off of the train cart and into Anville Town.

Anville Town was pretty much all Charlotte said it was—a train station. There were small houses off in the distance, but it was clear that the town existed solely for the purpose of this train station. It didn't take long to make it to the ticket stand, which was roughly 100 meters from their train stop. As Niko looked up at the schedule he was suddenly dismayed—the next train to Nimbasa City wasn't for another couple of hours.

"The next ticket for Nimbasa City is in two hours and fifteen minutes." The man at the ticket stand said lazily, almost as if reading the minds of Niko and Charlotte. "Would you like a ticket for the next train?"

"Two, please." Charlotte said. Niko stood behind her, twiddling his thumbs. The man took the money she gave him in exchange for the tickets, and after giving Niko one of the them, the pair walked over to a nearby café to rest and eat something. "Wow, I'm hungry…"

"Battling does that to you." Niko said quietly, summoning Servine, Rufflet, and Roggenrola. He gave a Rawst Berry to Servine to heal her of her burn from Chandelure's flamethrower. "Are you alright, Servine?" He asked. The Grass Snake Pokémon nodded before looking to a surprised Rufflet and Roggenrola and explaining the battle with Ingo and Emmet to them. Meanwhile, Niko sat down with his tea and a sandwich and stared at it for a moment before beginning to eat.

"Are you alright, Niko?" Charlotte asked before digging into her own meal.

"Of course I am, why?"

"Because…you seemed to content with life earlier today, and that battle seemed to rattle you a little."

"I was mad at myself for not realizing we were going _here_ , of all places." Niko said, raising his hands into the air to illustrate his point."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else on your mind?" Charlotte asked. When Niko shook his head, she continued. "If there is, you know you can tell me, right?"

"Sometimes you can't." Niko said curtly, biting into his sandwich.

"Yes, you can. But if you don't want to, I understand."

It was several more minutes before anything was said between the two. Meanwhile, their Pokémon all ate as well, with Servine and Smeargle eating the most to recover from the exhaustion from their battle with Eelektross and Chandelure. The entire time, Niko was thinking about what Emmet and Ingo said to him. It was plainly obvious to him that they knew who he was, and his history. And he knew Charlotte was aware that something was up. At this point, everything seemed to be pointing in the direction of Niko telling Charlotte about his past and who he was. He just felt too awkward about opening up about it. Fortunately for him, his chance was brought to him.

"Emmet and Ingo kept referencing that they knew who you were. Be honest, Niko—do you know them?"

"No."

"Then why would they say that? Sorry if I'm prying too much."

"No, you're not." Niko said, finally finishing his food. _I guess I should come clean now._ "They do recognize me, but I've never met them before." When Charlotte was silent, briefly locking eyes with Niko before he averted his gaze, Niko continued. "I'm not exactly who I say I am…"

"What do you mean?"

"I…I'm Niko from Pallet Town. I'm a Pokémon Trainer, and have been for over four years now. You probably have questions just based on that, but let me explain.

"I have travelled throughout the Pokémon World, competing in four different conferences—the Indigo, Silver, Ever Grande, and Lily of the Valley Conferences. I've raised and trained nearly two dozen different Pokémon in that time, and have won over 30 gym badges. For most of that time I travelled with my friends from home—Fay and JJ, as well as one of my closest friends that I met along my journey, Brittany. I also travelled with my brother, Jake, and my ex-girlfriend, Lauren." He then stopped, looking at Charlotte and then at his Pokémon. Charlotte didn't seem surprised, but Rufflet and Roggenrola were. Servine, understandably, was not, since she already knew part of Niko's history.

"I knew I recognized you…you were in the Lily of the Valley Conference!" Charlotte said.

"Yes, and the fact that you recognized me freaked the hell out of me."

"Niko…you were a great trainer! Why did you give that up? Why did you feel the need to lie to people like Warren and I?"

Niko let out a heavy sigh. "A few reasons. One of them was that I was losing sight of my goal. I wanted to be a Pokémon Master, and see the entire world for myself. I wanted to meet new Pokémon and become the best possible trainer that I could be. But for three years I kept placing the same spot in each Pokémon League I entered—Top 8. I wasn't improving. After Lily of the Valley, Lauren—my ex—and I competed on Battle Island, which was basically a Battle Frontier in the Sinnoh region. There, we had to win five Frontier Prints from each of the five facilities.

"We faced the first 'Frontier Brain,' Palmer. Both of us lost, and we vowed to rematch him when we had the other four prints. I eventually got them, and when Lauren and I rematched him, she won and I forfeited. Yeah, I quit. I didn't see a path to victory against his powerful Dragonite, when my strongest Pokémon and my ice type both were unable to battle. I quit being a trainer at that point. But that was only one reason—the fact that I didn't feel like I was improving as a trainer. I wasn't getting any better.

"The other reason is this guy named Hunter. He's the guy you saw me battle—the one with the Toxicroak. He's a real jerk, and he constantly belittled me and my friends every time we had the misfortune of meeting up with him. And over time he finally got under my skin. He nearly killed my Rampardos in battle, he never stopped insulting my close friend JJ and girlfriend Lauren. He told me that if I couldn't beat Palmer then I couldn't ever beat him, and I would never be considered as a strong trainer.

"So, just after I forfeited to Palmer, I broke up with Lauren. I ended the first real relationship I ever had because she told me she loved me. Truthfully, I didn't know how I felt, and it bothered her more than me, and so she just left. Our futures were uncertain, too, since she was offered the position of Frontier Brain for winning all five prints, and I had no idea what to do. But then, just as I got back to the Pokémon Center, ready to make my trip home, I got a call from my mom.

"My dad had suddenly gotten very sick. And he wasn't getting any better. So I had to take the first flight back to Pallet Town that I could, but by the time I got home, he had passed away. I didn't know how to deal with it—first the forfeit, then the break up, and now I lost my dad, whom I had always looked up to, who had always believed that I could be the greatest trainer in the world…" Niko began to tear up a little at the thought of his father. "And I couldn't handle it. A few days later, on the day of his funeral, I left Pallet Town. Left behind my family, my friends, and my Pokémon—all of them—and went on a journey without a destination. I didn't even go to my father's funeral.

"So that's how I ended up here in Unova. It was the first region that came to mind when I was choosing where to go next. It was far enough away that no one would think to find me here. And so I pledged to begin my new life in Castelia City, working as a dishwasher while living in an apartment with Warren. And I never, _ever_ , wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer again. I was too scared. Too scared of trying again. And furthermore I lacked any will to try. I had failed myself and everyone around me, left everyone that ever cared for me to be alone in my own sorrows.

"That's when I met Snivy, a few months later. She reminded me of what I gave up. What I lost. And it was hard getting back into it—training Pokémon, going on a journey. I really didn't want to do it—I meant that. But Warren and you and Snivy all wanted to, and so I did to make all of you happy. That's it." Niko said, slouching a little bit in his chair, looking deeply disturbed. Rufflet wiped the tears from his eyes with his wings. Servine was completely silent, trying to take in all of the new information. Roggenrola, who still didn't know Niko that well, seemed genuinely curious.

Charlotte was silent for some time, also trying to absorb what she just heard. "Niko…I don't know what to say, honestly."

"You don't have to say anything. I didn't want to tell anyone because I didn't want to confront my own past, and didn't want to admit that I was such a failure. I missed my own dad's funeral! At the lowest point in my family's life, I abandoned EVERYONE! My friends went to the funeral, and I didn't! I was bullied by a jerk trainer who nearly killed one of my Pokémon, and I didn't have the ability to do anything about it! If I was ever destined to be a Pokémon Master, then wouldn't I have beaten Palmer, or Hunter, or _anyone_?"

Niko slammed his elbows onto the table, and put his head in his hands. He then felt a small, soft hand clasp his wrist. Looking up, he saw Charlotte sitting there.

"I believe in you, Niko." She said simply.

"What…?"

"I believe in you." She repeated. "You have every reason in the world to feel the way that you do. And I won't doubt for a moment that your past is difficult to bring up. I am not offended in the least that you chose not to tell me. I don't know how Warren would feel, but I think he would understand, too. But I also believe that you're strong enough to move past everything that you've done, both to yourself and those close to you. You've had the strength to tell me and your Pokémon, now I think you can use that strength to carry your further with your Pokémon. And Warren and I will be by your side every step of the way. I promise you that."

"That's what my friends said to me before I left." Niko said.

"True, and the common denominator there is you. If you truly feel bad about what you've done, then I have all of the confidence in the world that you won't abandon Warren or I, or those three." She said in reference to the Pokémon in Niko's possession. "I'm not the best at giving advice, but I think you're on the right path. You're winning battles again, you have a strong relationship with your Pokémon. You have two friends with you, supporting you the entire way. You're a good person, Niko. A good person who made a lot of mistakes. And I think you've owned up to those mistakes, but don't know how to move past them. It'll take a while, but you certainly can."

"Thanks, Charlotte. I appreciate hearing that." Niko said, feeling a little better about the situation. "I'm glad I met you and Warren. Really glad."

"Same here. We're in this together. We made the choice to go on this journey together, and nothing will split us apart. Except, of course, this stupid Battle Subway." This elicited a laugh from the both of them, which significantly lightened the mood.

* * *

Time eventually passed, and Niko and Charlotte finally made it on to the train en route back to Nimbasa City. The trip back seemed to go by quicker than the departure trip earlier. They looked back at the small Anville Town. Neither of them would miss the train station.

"Hey, Niko," Charlotte asked as they noticed they were slowing down. "So how do you know Sabrina?"

"I challenged her for her gym badge in Kanto. It was the first gym battle I ever lost, and then won in the rematch with my bulbasaur evolving into ivysaur." Niko said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, and Elliot?"

"He's actually a relative of my friend Fay. I lost to him in the quarterfinals of the Silver Conference in Johto. That was actually the last time I saw him before a few days ago. I convinced him to keep quiet about me and my past, and I was surprised that he agreed. As for Sabrina, I can't explain how she didn't reveal who I was. I guess it might have been her psychic powers."

Charlotte nodded, feeling more satisfied by Niko's responses. They walked out of Gear Station just as the moon was rising in the night sky. "Looks like we've missed the game." She said.

"Yeah you have!" A familiar voice shouted to them. Warren walked over, embracing both Niko and Charlotte. "Where have you two been? I've been so worried!"

"So…we got a little off course." Niko said. He and Charlotte then explained the past few hours, with Charlotte purposely leaving out Niko's story, both on his request and her own volition. When they finished, Warren seemed to understand.

"That Emmet and Ingo pair doesn't sound nice. I'd have loved to give them a piece of my mind…" He said.

"They were really strong, Warren. But their Pokémon were pretty cool." He then pulled out his pokédex to show Warren Eelektross and Chandelure. He responded with a silent "oh" in agreement. "Anyway, how was the game?"

"Good. The Beartics won in a landslide. It wasn't even a fair game. The Aspertia Stoutlands were no match at all." He then looked around, as if searching for something. "Say, you two want to try out that Ferris Wheel again?

"Sure, hopefully the ticket guy isn't a jerk." Niko said and, alongside Charlotte, walked off with Warren towards the strip of land with the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel. Unlike earlier that day, the trio were able to get onto the Ferris Wheel. Somehow, all three of them managed to fit into one seat on the wheel, and they were off, slowly making their way up and around the wheel.

Niko looked out at the city beyond. Nimbasa City was unlike anything he had ever seen before. At night it was a truly beautiful sight—so lively and bright and colorful. As he was admiring the view, he felt a finger tap him on the shoulder from his left.

"Thanks for telling me about your story, by the way." Charlotte whispered to him politely.

"No problem, I guess." Niko whispered back. "And same goes to you—you can tell me whatever you need to."

"Alright, fair enough. But you need to consider talking to Warren about it."

"Talk to me about what?" Warren asked, leaning over to the other two. "What's up?"

"I—Charlotte and I were thinking that I should go to the Nimbasa Gym tomorrow. Maybe in the afternoon I would challenge the gym leader. That's what I wanted to tell you." Charlotte nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, yeah that works!" Warren said with a smile. "Ready to get your fourth gym badge?"

"Of course I am." Niko said, balling his hand into a fist. "And so are my Pokémon." He added, this time with a new resolve in his voice. After finally opening up to someone about the past that constantly troubled him, Niko finally felt at peace, even if just a little.


	18. A model Gym Leader

**Episode 18: A model Gym Leader**

"Roggenrola, use rock blast!" Niko shouted. The Mantle Pokémon conjured a series of rocks and hurled them directly forward at his imaginary opponent. "Nice job, but let's keep it up!" He said. Roggenrola continued working on this for another half hour before sitting down, slightly exhausted. "Good work, I think we're on the right path here." He said, sitting down next to Roggenrola. "You're getting better." He said kindly, tapping Roggenrola on the back of his head. He knew that the little rock type would be incredibly important in the upcoming gym battle in Nimbasa City, which specialized in electric types. Even though Roggenrola didn't have a direct advantage, he was the closest thing Niko had besides Servine. And he knew from experience that having as many advantages as possible was necessary, in the event that he gets caught off guard.

"Niko's been more active in training for this gym battle than any of the ones before this…" Warren said observantly. "Did something happen to him on that Battle Subway?"

"Sort of." Charlotte said with a smirk. "I think he's a better person because of it."

After their short training session, Niko took his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to rest up while he had a quick meal with Charlotte and Warren. Him and Warren exchanged casual conversation while Charlotte was reading her book, presumably to look for anything on the Nimbasa Gym. Finding nothing, she put her book away and listened to the conversation between her two companions. Warren was explaining the highlights of the Beartics game the previous evening. Niko, who knew close to nothing about basketball, listened and tried to understand what Warren was saying.

"Alright, I think my Pokémon are ready." Niko finally said, not wanting to interrupt Warren. He got up, walked over to Nurse Joy's desk, and picked up his three pokéballs. "Thanks."

"No problem. Come again!" She said politely. Niko nodded and pocketed the pokéballs before heading back to his friends.

"You all ready to head out?"

"Yeah. Where's the gym?" Warren asked, standing up. Niko shrugged. "Okay…Charlotte?"

"It's at the northern end of the city. It's also not a…conventional gym." She said. "At least, according to the book I have." Confused, Niko and Warren exchanged looks.

Charlotte was right. The outside of the Nimbasa Gym didn't look like a traditional gym. Instead, it looked more like a Contest Hall. Walking inside, Niko and his friends noticed that they weren't alone—there was a crowd of people! _What the…?_ Niko thought to himself as he observed the people socializing with one another.

"What is this place?" He asked Charlotte, who didn't seem to have any idea. "Looks like a Pokémon Contest." Niko then approached the front desk. "Excuse me, is this the Nimbasa Gym?"

"Yes, would you like to request a match with Gym Leader Elesa?" The lady asked kindly.

"Yes, please." Niko said. "Is there some wait line or something?"

"No, actually Elesa is available for battling soon. All of these people are here for an event in a few hours. She usually reserves her gym battles for her 'warm-up' acts before her runway shows." The lady explained.

"Oh, she's a model?" Niko asked curiously. The lady nodded.

"Indeed. She's a Gym Leader part time, and a model full time. Her crowds generally show up for her fashion shows, but occasionally they'll come for a potential gym battle." She then pressed some keys on her desk computer, asking for Niko's information. "Alright, you're registered for a battle with Elesa. Be prepared for a battle in the next half hour. When we're ready for you, a security guard will come to fetch you and lead you to the stage."

"Thank you." Niko said cordially before turning to Warren and Charlotte. "Guess I'm getting another audience."

"That'll be fun! Just like in Aspertia City!" Warren said.

"Yeah, only difference is these people are here for entertainment, not for learning." Niko said. "Oh well, I'm not too worried about it."

"And you shouldn't be." Charlotte said. "C'mon Warren, let's go get our seats." She said, proceeding towards the stands on the other side of the lobby. Warren wished him good luck and then disappeared behind a set of double doors with Charlotte, leaving Niko alone in a lobby full of strangers. And so he took a seat on a cushioned couch and awaited his summoning.

As promised, half an hour later a security guard showed up to tell him they were ready for him. Niko got up and followed the guard through a different set of double doors than his friends did, and found himself walking down a hallway akin to a Pokémon League stadium entrance. On the other end of the hallway was a large indoor stadium, filled to the brim with crowds of people. The battlefield was sitting in the middle of the stadium, bisected by a runway.

At the opposite end of the runway was a tall black-haired woman in a tight-fitting pale-yellow and sky-blue swimsuit-like outfit. Her hair was braided in a zig-zagging pattern that descended past both of her shoulders. Her eyes were bright blue, like Niko's, and rested just below her black bangs. She wore a pair of headphones with two antennas, one on each end and each a different color. Lastly, she wore an enormous puffy pale-yellow sweater around her arms, as if she was in the process of taking it off.

"So you're my challenger. Niko, right?" She asked in a friendly tone. "I'm Elesa, the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City. Pleasure to meet you." She said, extending her hand. Niko shook it with a smile. "My gym battles are typically three-vs-three. Does that work for you?"

"Yes, it does." Niko said.

"Very well." Elesa said, walking to her end of the battlefield. Once she got to the end of the battlefield, standing on a circular space, she spun around and threw off the fluffy sweater, eliciting a loud applause from the crowd. "Let's begin. Emolga, I choose you!"

Out of Elesa's first pokéball came a small, flying squirrel Pokémon. It was primarily white with yellow wings and cheeks and black ears and tail. Pulling out his pokédex, Niko briefly examine the unfamiliar Pokémon.

" _Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokémon. Electric and flying type. It glides on its outstretched membrane while shocking foes with the electricity stores in the pouches on its cheeks_."

"Flying type…alright then, Rufflet, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his Eaglet Pokémon. He figured that, to lessen the work for Roggenrola, he would start with Rufflet. Plus, this was likely the best chance he had at giving the bird a fighting chance in this gym battle. "Use fury attack!"

"Emolga, electro ball!" Elesa commanded. Emolga conjured a crackling ball of electricity in between its small paws and launched it at Rufflet, who just barely missed the attack and glided upwards towards the flying squirrel, thrashing at it with his sharp talons. "Now, pursuit!"

Emolga charged down at Rufflet just as he was swooping away after finishing his fury attack. Emolga slammed into Rufflet just as he was close to the ground, and the two crashed into the floor of the battlefield. Elesa then commanded Emolga to use an electro ball at close range. This time, Rufflet couldn't escape, as the Sky Squirrel Pokémon was directly on top of him.

"Fury attack again!" Niko shouted, but it didn't seem to work. The attack landed, with Rufflet only barely scratching Emolga with fury attack. Emolga flew out of the resulting explosion from the electro ball, leaving Rufflet lying on his back, unable to move.

"Rufflet is unable to battle, Emolga is the winner!" The referee announced. "Challenger Niko will now use his second Pokémon!"

The crowd cheered for Elesa as Niko returned Rufflet. _Alright, guess that didn't work. Sorry, Rufflet_. He thought. "Roggenrola, let's go!" He shouted, throwing out his second pokéball. "Use rock blast!"

"Emolga, volt switch!" Elesa commanded. Emolga began to glow a bright yellow, surging with electricity as it dove down towards Roggenrola, who shifted to the side to dodge the squirrel. He then conjured rock after rock, shooting them at Emolga one after another, and knocking it to the ground. "Electro ball!"

Emolga once more conjured a ball of electric energy and launched it at Roggenrola, who blocked it with a rock blast of his own, creating an explosion in the middle of the battlefield. Emolga then attempted volt smith once more. This time, Roggenrola ran forward into the attack to use headbutt, and then up close launched a rock blast, directly at Emolga's face just as the volt switch attack was taking effect.

However, the effect of volt switch—swapping out Pokémon in a trainer's roster—didn't work, as the final rock blast defeated Emolga, leaving the flying squirrel laying on its back, unable to get back up.

"Emolga is unable to battle, Roggenrola is the winner! Leader Elesa will now send out her second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Yes!" Warren shouted, angering a few people in the crowd with him. Realizing this, he calmed down a little, and didn't speak much for the rest of the battle.

"Emolga, return. You got lucky there, Niko. But I believe I still have the advantage. Flaaffy, I choose you!" She shouted, throwing out a second pokéball containing a very familiar Pokémon to Niko, as Fay had one as well. "Use thunder wave!"

"Roggenrola, return." Niko said. If he was being honest with himself, it was a somewhat cheap move to return a Pokémon mid-attack. And his concerns were realized when he heard boos in the crowd. _I have to focus on winning, not on the crowd. That's what matter here, right?_ "Servine, I choose you!"

"Flaaffy, use electro ball!" Elesa commanded. Servine blocked the oncoming electric sphere with a defensive leaf tornado before dashing forward towards he opponent.

"Vine whip!" Niko called out. The Grass Snake Pokémon leapt through the air, wrapping Flaaffy with one of the vines and slapping it with the other. "Now, leaf tornado!"

Servine let go and then back flipped, unleashing a torrent of leaves from her tail at Flaaffy, who was blown backwards. Elesa commanded her Pokémon to use thunder wave, which certainly slowed Servine down, as the Grass Snake Pokémon was unable to evade the move this time.

"Electro ball!" She commanded. Flaaffy then charged forward, emboldened by the now paralyzed Servine, and slapped its electrified tail across Servine's body, launching the Grass Snake Pokémon across the battlefield and onto the runway bisecting the battlefield.

"Servine, can you continue?" Niko asked calmly, but decisively. Servine nodded, slowly getting up and using leaf tornado to quickly block a second oncoming electro ball. "Good. Now let's go out and win this! Servine, use offensive leaf tornado, and follow up with vine whip!"

Servine charged forward, flipping through the air at a high speed and quickly releasing a leaf tornado at flaaffy, who was whipped up in a frenzy by the attack. While the Wool Pokémon was distracted by the attack, Servine grabbed Flaaffy with both vines from her neck and launched her opponent high into the air.

"Finish Flaaffy off with leaf tornado!" Niko shouted, pointing toward the ceiling. Servine spun around, pointing her tail towards the now descending Flaaffy, and unleashed a final whirlwind of leaves. Flaaffy crashed into the ground in defeat.

"Flaaffy is unable to battle, Servine is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Elesa will now send out her final Pokémon!"

"Zebstrika, I choose you!" Elesa shouted amongst the cheers. Out of her third and final Pokémon came a massive zebra-like Pokémon with white, jagged mane lining its back. Curious, Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the Pokémon:

" _Zebstrika, the Thunderbolt Pokémon. Electric type. When this ill-tempered Pokémon runs wild, it shoots lightning from its mane in all directions_."

"Good luck, Niko. Zebstrika, use flame charge!"

 _It knows fire moves, too?_ Niko thought in a panic. "Servine, dodge the move!" Servine, for all of its speed, was barely able to move out of the way, instead rolling to the side as Zebstrika—coated in flames—dashed past her. "Now, use leaf tornado!"

"Flame charge again!" Elesa shouted. Zebstrika charged at Servine, the flames on its body glowing brighter and hotter. Servine stood still to use leaf tornado, but not only did the attack have no effect, the Grass Snake Pokémon was hit by the flame charge, launching her off of the battlefield and onto the surface below. Niko called out to her, but this time she didn't respond.

"Servine is unable to battle, Zebstrika is the winner!" The referee said amongst the crowd. "Challenger Niko will now send out his final Pokémon!"

"Roggenrola, I'm depending on you now. This is your time to shine. Let's go!" He shouted, once more summoning the Mantle Pokémon. "We're not against a flying type this time, buddy. Use sand attack!"

"Volt switch!" Elesa commanded. Zebstrika charged forward, its body glowing with electricity. Roggenrola stood sturdy, kicking dirt up from the floor of the battlefield, creating a small, low-hanging cloud of dust and dirt into the air, covering his movements. This allowed him to slowly shift out of Zebstrika's path, and launched a rock blast at the zebra's side, knocking it off of its feet and onto the ground. "Zebstrika, we need to get back up! Use flame charge!" Elesa shouted, but the command was in vain.

"Roggenrola, use mud slap!" Niko commanded. Roggenrola kicked more dirt into the air, aimed specifically at Zebstrika. "Now, rock blast!" The Mantle Pokémon then barraged Zebstrika with a series of rocks. "And let's finish this off with headbutt!"

Roggenrola charged at Zebstrika, striking the Thunderbolt Pokémon with the brown point of his head, just as Zebstrika used volt switch and electrified Roggenrola, forcing sparks to surge through the ear on his face and into his body. Smoke began to come out from Roggenrola and he stumbled backwards, nevertheless maintaining his balance.

"Roggenrola, don't lose your balance, alright?" Niko said, again calmly. Roggenrola nodded, standing low to the ground to maintain his balance. "Good. Now, let's finish Zebstrika with rock blast!" Roggenrola leaned back upwards a little and conjured a final series of rocks in front of his body, launching each one in succession at the fallen Zebstrika. After the final one, Zebstrika wasn't moving, indicating its inability to battle.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle, Roggenrola is the winner!" The referee declared, waving a white flag towards Niko. "And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Way to go, Roggenrola!" Niko said, running onto the field and picking up—albeit with difficulty—the Mantle Pokémon. "I'm really proud of you, buddy. We won this because of _you_!"

Roggenrola nodded, clearly proud of himself. Niko nodded, looking up from his Pokémon and at Elesa, who was standing at his height and holding a small yellow badge in her palm.

"Niko, congrats on defeating me. Admittedly, I don't like to lose, but I can see that you're a skillful and resourceful trainer. I wish you the best of luck in your gym challenge in Unova. So…here, allow me to offer you the Bolt Badge, as proof that you defeated me." She said, holding out the small badge that was in the shape of a lightning bolt, with an orange crown sticking out of the tip of the badge.

"Thank you for the battle, Elesa." Niko said, returning Roggenrola to his pokéball and taking the badge from her palm. "Hopefully I didn't anger your fans too much." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, don't mind them. They get too excited just by my presence." She shrugged. "I love my fans, but they can be a bit much sometimes."

"Must be hard to be a celebrity, I suppose." Niko commented, looking around at the crowd.

"It can be a lot sometimes, but I don't think it's necessarily hard. There are difficult things in this world. Dealing with fans is not really one of them, in my opinion." She smirked. "Anyway, let's get you on your way. I have some show I need to do soon."

Niko nodded, and was personally led out of the stadium by Elesa, leaving him in the lobby. Moments later, Charlotte and Warren showed up to congratulate him.

"Elesa's fans though…dear lord." Warren said, shaking his head. "Niko, they were _mad_ people! Mad!"

"They really did act unkind to Warren." Charlotte added. "Once they figured out who we were supporting, they didn't treat us nicely."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that…" Niko said, looking genuinely concerned. He didn't want his friends to have to constantly go through that.

"It's no problem, dude." Warren said. "I'd do it again if it meant watching you win, you know?"

"Well, I appreciate that. Now come on, let's go grab something to eat." Niko said, leading his friends out of the Nimbasa Gym and towards their next destination. Four badges down, four to go.


	19. Forest of illusions

**Episode 19: Forest of illusions**

The day after his victory at the Nimbasa Gym against Elesa, Niko, Warren, and Charlotte plotted to continue their journey westward towards Driftveil City. There, Niko planned to take on the gym leader there for his fifth Unova gym badge. At a restaurant the night Niko obtained the Bolt Badge from Elesa, the trio determined—with the help of a map and Charlotte's book on the Unova region—that the journey to Driftveil City might take under a week to arrive at. They had to traverse Route 5 until they got to the Driftveil Bridge, which they would cross to arrive in Driftveil City.

That night Niko went to sleep more content with himself and his Pokémon than he has felt in a long time. In fact, he tried to think about the last time he felt this sort of happy. He couldn't.

The following morning, the trio got up and prepared for their journey to Driftveil City by healing up their Pokémon and going to the market to stock up on supplies. There, Niko got the usual carrot juice for Servine and discovered Rufflet's interest in Lum Berries, particularly with the seeds.

"Man, how much I'd kill to have JJ's poffin baking skills…" Niko muttered to himself, looking around and seeing no one near him except Rufflet. "JJ was a friend that I travelled with." He explained to the Eaglet Pokémon. "Very nice guy, he wants to be a Pokémon Breeder, and part of that is learning how to bake things like poffins. If you ever meet him, I'll be sure to ask him to make you a Lum Berry poffin." Niko said, petting the floating Rufflet on the head. "Anyways, let's go find the others, alright?"

Niko and his Pokémon found Warren and Charlotte peering into the "snacks" aisle, specifically at the cookies. Shaking his head, he quickly approached them, holding his cart full of supplies up in front of them. This caught their attention, and the two smiled nervously. Laughing, Niko walked with them to the cashier—without the cookies—and out of the mart.

They began their trip by walking through the western exit of Nimbasa City, which was an arched, lit-up gate with a sign on the side indicating that they were at the city limits. Niko turned to see cars driving in and out on the paved road beside him, wondering where they were coming from or going. _Maybe some of them are going to Driftveil City to challenge the Gym Leader there?_ He thought to himself.

By midday, the trio sat down for lunch after making some serious headway on their journey. They had left the roads—and any vestige of human civilization—and were now in the middle of a forest. Smeargle helped create a small fire, and while their lunch was getting prepared Niko and his Pokémon went off to train.

"Rufflet, I want you to use peck this time, and as hard as you can! Servine, use a defensive leaf tornado!" Niko commanded. He was trying to get Rufflet to start learning aerial ace—a move he knew how to teach relatively well by this point. The Eaglet Pokémon rose high into the air before diving down, gaining speed as he descended towards Servine. The Grass Snake Pokémon then conjured a strong wall of leaves around herself, which at first repelled Rufflet, who got caught in the leaf tornado and was spun around by the force of the leaves.

Niko watched as Rufflet tried to regain his composure in midair, noticing how he maneuvered his limbs to put himself back in control of his own body. Then, without having to ask, he saw Rufflet dive back down, this time from behind Servine. Niko smirked as he watched Servine spin her body around and use leaf tornado offensively on her teammate, once more engulfing him in a swirling mass of green leaves. Rufflet once more lost control of his body and was flung high into the air and then down into the forest beyond.

"Oh, Rufflet…" Niko said, shaking his head and laughing to himself. "We'll get this right eventually. Good work, Servine."

Servine nodded as Niko walked past her to find Rufflet among the forest, Servine behind him. As he walked through, he quickly noticed the scenery wasn't changing. Looking around, Niko found only Servine as his side. There was no one around.

"Well, that's odd." He said. "We've only been walking for maybe a minute. Let's keep going and see if this keeps up, alright Servine?" The Grass Snake Pokémon nodded and continued in step with her trainer. After several more minutes of walking, they continued to find themselves in the same situation as before—the same trees, all the same size, same everything. "Okay Servine, you notice that?" He asked, pointing around him. "We're not making any progress in this forest!"

Servine got lower to the ground, as if trying to sense anything around her. When she did so, she started dashing off in a "forward" direction. Looking up, Niko followed her.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at their camp, Charlotte and Warren were sitting down with Roggenrola waiting on Niko to return. After what seemed like forever, they exchanged concerned looks and then stood up.

"He went in that direction, right?" Warren asked, pointing off to the north.

"I think so. Roggenrola, do you want to help us find Niko?" Charlotte asked the Mantle Pokémon, who nodded eagerly. "Excellent, let's go get him."

"Wait!" They all turned to see a man with a massive backpack slung around his shoulder approaching them. "You—you're not thinking of going in _there_ , are you?"

"Well, yes." Warren said matter-of-factly. "Our friend hasn't come back for a while."

"Oh...if that's the case, then my condolences." He said, looking down at the ground and then back at the two trainers. "He might not come back."

"Why is that?" Charlotte asked, thoroughly confused and concerned now. "What's in that forest?"

"I powerful Pokémon. That—up there—is the Lostlorn Forest. It's the home to a dangerous creature. We don't know where it is, or what it is, or even _where_ it is. I've only heard that a woman lives there in a trailer. I've met her once—very nice woman. She believes that living by herself quietly is more important than traveling around the world like you or me. But your friend is in danger, if not already…well…"

"We'll find him." Warren said decisively. "He can't be that lost, he hasn't been gone that long." The backpacker shrugged.

"Fine. I'll accompany you, then. Name's Tim. And you both are…?"

"Warren. And this is Charlotte. We're looking for our friend Niko." Warren said in reply. Tim then nodded and led the two into the Lostlorn Forest. They didn't realize they were entering it until several minutes in when, like with Niko, they noticed their surroundings weren't changing. "So…are we going in the right direction?" He asked Tim, who turned around and shrugged.

"I have no idea." Tim said, looking around at the oak trees surrounding them. "I've heard that there are no ordinary changes in scenery, but eventually that goes away…I think."

"So basically…" Charlotte began. "You have no idea what you're doing?"

"Not at all. But I figured I should try and help you all out." Tim responded. He then looked down at Roggenrola. "Wait a minute! Your Roggenrola can sense the vibrations in the ground. It can basically sense how far away a sound is!"

"Really?" Warren asked, crouching down. "Hey, Roggenrola, did you get that? Can you try and use the vibrations to figure out which direction Niko might be in?"

Roggenrola nodded, crouching a little closer to the ground and turning his head around a little, using his yellow ear in his head to help figure out the direction. Eventually, he jumped a little and turned in the direction just in front of Tim. He then broke into a run, dashing in the direction at a pace neither Warren nor Charlotte had ever seen before. A little shocked by this, the three humans also broke into a run behind him. Just as they did, the trees around them disappeared, as if a curtain was being pulled up from all directions.

* * *

Niko found Servine still crouched low to the ground as the two entered a clearing. There, Rufflet was laying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Fearful for the eaglet's health, Niko dashed over to his Pokémon, picking Rufflet up.

"You alright buddy?" He asked as he looked down at Rufflet. The Eaglet Pokémon nodded, slowly opening his eyes. "Alright, good. Sorry that the battle got a little heated earlier. Right, Servine?" The Grass Snake Pokémon nodded apologetically, walking over and patting Rufflet on the head carefully. "Let's get out of here, alright?" He then stood up, and as he did he noticed a woman standing there. She was skinny with brown hair tied up in a ponytail in the back. She wore blue jeans and a sky blue and white striped shirt. She was emotionless. "Hello?"

She didn't respond.

"Err…hi, I'm Niko. These are my Pokémon, Servine and Rufflet. I just found Rufflet unconscious, and I was wondering if you have anything that he could drink to, y'know, bring back some of his energy?"

She still didn't respond, instead glaring at Niko with a still-emotionless expression.

"Can you talk? What's your name?" Niko asked calmly. _This is really weird…what's up with this woman?_ "Oookay then, I'm going to head out then. Nice meeting you…"

As he turned his back on the woman, he took a step and heard a low growling sound coming from behind him. Slowly turning back, he saw that the growl was coming from the woman. She then slowly parted her lips, revealing long, white fangs underneath.

"What the…?"

The trees around them suddenly disappeared, leaving an even wider clearing than before, and the woman transformed into a tall, black and dark gray foxlike Pokémon. It was bipedal with a pointed snout and ears with red insides; some red rimming around its eyes and mouth; a black ruff on its upper body, pointed at the shoulders from where its arms extended; its arms were thin, but its legs were slightly bulkier; its eyes were light blue with red rimming around them; lastly, it wore a large, red, voluminous mane with black tips that seemed to resemble a ponytail. It crouched low before leaping through the air and nearly fifty feet to cross the distance between it and Niko.

"Servine, leaf tornado!" Niko shouted. The Grass Snake Pokémon nodded, somersaulting through the air to meet the strange Pokémon. She then used the leaf tornado, but it hardly seemed to affect the Pokémon, who slashed her into the ground, causing a dust cloud to erupt. By this time Niko was already creating more distance between him. However, none of this seemed to matter when the foxlike Pokémon jumped and landed in his path towards the edge of the now larger clearing.

"Poliwag, water gun! Swadloon, string shot!" Warren commanded.

"Smeargle, ember!" Charlotte shouted. Just as they all attacked, Roggenrola slammed his head into the Pokémon, to which the fox grabbed the Mantle Pokémon and attempted to throw him, but was buffeted by the three elemental attacks. "Niko, you alright?" Charlotte asked, running around the battle to meet her friend.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Rufflet's a little hurt, and so is Servine, so you guys are just in time. Who's this?" He asked, pointing to Tim. Charlotte explained the encounter with the backpacker before turning to the Pokémon.

"Is this what you were talking about?" She asked.

"Yes, I forget the name though." Tim said, scratching his chin nervously. Just then, Charlotte pulled out her pokédex:

" _Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokémon. Dark type. Stories say those who tried to catch Zoroark were trapped in an illusion and punished_."

"So that woman was actually a Pokémon…" Niko reasoned to himself.

"What woman?" Tim asked curiously. Niko then explained his encounter with the strangely silent woman. "Odd…she talked for me…but it kind of makes sense. She did seem a little odd. It also explains the illusions in the Lostlorn Forest."

Meanwhile, Zoroark was fighting the four Pokémon plus Servine, who had recently reentered the fray with vine whip, combining the attack with Swadloon's string shot to contain the Illusion Fox Pokémon. Then, Roggenrola, Smeargle, and Poliwag all launched attacks from different directions, quickly subduing Zoroark. Servine and Swadloon let go of the Illusion Fox, carefully watching as it dropped to its knees. It was panting heavily.

"What do we do with it?" Niko asked.

"We could just leave it be…" Charlotte suggested, motioning for Smeargle to come closer to her.

"No." Warren said. "It clearly tried to attack us. Why would we just let it go?"

"It might have felt provoked!" Charlotte shouted back. "Maybe Niko accidentally walked into its territory with a harmed Pokémon, and it saw the chance to attack? Or maybe it felt threatened by Niko and Servine?"

"Why would it feel threatened? It's clearly strong!" Warren argued back. They continued this argument for another minute until they noticed Tim walking over to Zoroark, leaning over and trying to pat the Zoroark. "Woah! Tim, what're you doing!?"

"Zoroark is hurt, I've got something that can heal it." He said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a spray bottle. Zoroark winced a little at the sight, even growling at Tim. "There there, you'll be fine. None of us meant any harm. Niko here was just looking for his hurt Pokémon. He didn't even know you existed." Tim said calmly. He then sprayed some liquid on Zoroark's shoulder, presumably where the Illusion Fox Pokémon took a hit from one of the Pokémon. "Feel better?" Zoroark nodded. "Alright, we're going to get going then. Please try to not get into trouble, alright?"

Once more, Zoroark nodded, and Tim stood back on his feet. "So…we're just going to leave a dangerous Pokémon like that around?" Warren asked in complete shock. Tim nodded with a smile. "Why?"

"This is Zoroark's home. I didn't realize it until now. And even though it can be dangerous, it's also a wild and rare Pokémon, and shouldn't be tampered with. But it does need to behave itself from now on, and not scare humans." He turned to Zoroark. "Creating an illusion of a human is weird, Zoroark. Don't do it."

Zoroark nodded, feeling ashamed of itself. Tim pat its head and then motioned for the group to go back the way they had come, back to their campsite.

Half an hour later the trio—and Tim—made it back to their abandoned campsite. Just as they settled back down, Tim turned to leave, saying farewell to the group.

"Thanks for the help, Tim!" Niko shouted to the backpacker, who turned and smiled, waving his hand in farewell. "What a nice guy…decides to jump into a dangerous situation to help you two—complete strangers to him."

"Yeah, almost seems too convenient…" Charlotte said quietly, and only when Tim was out of earshot.

"What do you mean? He did nothing wrong to us…" Warren replied. "Our Pokémon aren't incredibly strong. If he wanted to attack us or leave us to fend for ourselves, he would have." Charlotte simply shrugged in response, not willing to push the envelope on this. "Either way, we need to get going if we're going to make it to Driftveil City." Warren said, beginning to pack up their things. Niko and Charlotte nodded as well, packing up their things with the help of their Pokémon.

Unbeknownst to them, off in the distance the backpacker watched them from behind a tree before turning around with his back now to the tree and pulled out a phone. "Yeah…the Zoroark works. I sent some kids into the forest. Wasn't hard, but they made quick work of the Subject. Yeah…yeah I'll run more tests. Thanks."

Tim put the phone away and smirked.


	20. Niko's first triple battle!

**Episode 20: Niko's first triple battle!**

After dealing with the odd Zoroark in the Lostlorn Forest, Niko and his friends continued on towards Driftveil City, the site of Niko's next gym battle. To get there, they had to traverse route 5 and then cross the Driftveil Drawbridge. Along the way, Niko continued training with his Pokémon, hoping to toughen them up for whatever type of Pokémon the Driftveil Gym would use.

Since his practice battle with Servine, Rufflet sat on the sidelines, much to his dissatisfaction. Niko didn't want him to get further injured, which at times enraged the young Eaglet Pokémon. Instead, Servine and Roggenrola trained with one another. Generally, Servine would show her superiority to the Mantle Pokémon, but wasn't invulnerable either. Roggenrola managed to kick sand into Servine's face and land a series of headbutts and a rock blast before Servine gathered herself once more.

Occasionally, Warren would join in and help Niko out with his training, usually to give his Pokémon a wider range of types to train against. It was during this time that Servine and Swadloon began to develop a sort of rivalry with one another, each trying to prove themselves superior to the other. Meanwhile, Smeargle primarily watched. It never really expressed interest in battling unless it had to. The exception was during Niko and Charlotte's adventure on the Battle Subway, when Smeargle and Snivy engaged in a double battle. Since then, the Painter Pokémon and Servine became better friends, often eating together.

Finishing up his training, Niko sat down and began eating with his Pokémon. Rufflet—still angry with Niko for not letting him battle—sat away from his trainer, turning his back on Niko.

"Still mad at me?" Niko asked. Rufflet nodded. "I get that. I just want you to be safe, that's all." It didn't seem to help. Charlotte, who seemed to understand why Niko said this, turned to her friend with a look of admiration, smirking a little to herself as she ate. "So, I think if we keep walking for the rest of the day, we might make it to the Driftveil Bridge early tomorrow morning." Niko added.

"Looks like it. I've noticed the river near us has gotten a little larger." Warren said. When Niko and Charlotte both looked at him with curiosity, he shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just trying to be optimistic."

Warren then finished his food and turned to his bag, opening it and pulling out a small booklet. When he pulled out a pen and began writing in it, Niko tilted his head a little. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, in my spare time I chronicle our journey. Been doing that since we left Castelia City—the third time, mind you. I've gotten most of the Zoroark incident written down, and I might write about your training session today, Niko."

"Really now?" Niko asked. "You gonna write a story about us or something?" He wasn't trying to be serious.

"Oh, maybe someday. Who knows." Warren then hunched over and began scribbling in his booklet while Niko and Charlotte finished eating.

* * *

The trio continued walking until sunset, when they noticed a collection of trailers and trucks lined up alongside a road at the bottom of the hill that they were standing atop. There were roughly a dozen different vehicles in varying sizes.

"Woah…what's that?" Niko asked, pointing down to the trucks.

"Looks like a bunch of food trucks." Warren said. "Not sure what the trailers are, but I recognize those food truck brands. They had some of those at Castelia University."

"Yeah, I recognize the Red Emboar. They've got some really spicy foods." Charlotte noted.

"That's pretty good, too!" Warren said. "Wanna check it out?"

Niko shrugged. "Sure, why not? We won't make it to Driftveil City until tomorrow anyways." He said. The trio then found a safe way down to the bottom of the hill and approached the food trucks.

There, they noticed that the food trucks were the only attractions there. People of all professions were performing in a variety of arts. In front of one trailer, there was a man and his Pokémon—Niko didn't recognize it, but Warren identified it as a Sigilyph—painting; a pair of people and their Pokémon were breakdancing—Charlotte noticed the Pokémon were Scraggy; and some other people were playing music with a Maractus.

"Wow, it's like some sort of performance festival!" Charlotte said excitedly. "I've seen some of these at Castelia University, but never really involved myself in them. One year, Smeargle wanted to try and paint something, but she got nervous and we backed out at the last minute…"

"You're an artist, Charlotte?" Niko asked as they walked towards the painter and his Sigilyph.

"Well, no. Not really. Smeargle is—was. When we left she kind of gave up on it. Maybe when we get back home we'll try it out again." She said, almost in a sad tone of voice. Niko noticed this, but didn't say much. They were at a social event—they should at least try to enjoy it.

Warren had quickly picked up a conversation with the musician playing a guitar with his friend, who was on a harmonica. Niko smirked as he saw how animated his friend got, especially after formally meeting a Maractus for what looked like the first time. He then felt someone tap his arm and, turning around, saw Charlotte standing there.

"Want to get something to eat?" She asked. Niko nodded, and she took him to the Red Emboar to grab some food. It wasn't as spicy as Charlotte said it was, but Niko seemed to enjoy it. As did his Pokémon—particularly Rufflet.

What Niko found most interesting about the Red Emboar, however, was the tiny little green Pokémon floating around it. He quickly deduced that it was a psychic type, judging by how it had a light purple aura around it whenever it moved something around in the food truck. It was a spherical, pale green Pokémon that was surrounded by a darker green, gel-like substance. Its inner body had two dark, oval eyes and a red diamond-shaped mouth. On the upper left side of its head was a curly, yellow hair-like growth that curled a little. Niko found it adorable.

" _Solosis, the Cell Pokémon. Psychic type. Because their bodies are enveloped in a special liquid, they are fine in any environment, no matter how severe_."

"So, it's a Solosis…" Niko said, looking from his pokédex up to the Cell Pokémon, who had just then noticed him. "Hello there." He said as Solosis approached him. "How are you?"

The Solosis made a quiet gargling sound before picking Rufflet up and wobbling him around in the air. It seemed to enrage the small Eaglet Pokémon, who instinctively went to attack Solosis just as the psychic type was finished with him.

"Rufflet, calm down." Niko said calmly. However, this didn't stop Rufflet, who was on a rampage after the Solosis, eventually flying through the food truck itself to get in a peck or two onto the Cell Pokémon, and nearly ruining the kitchen. "I'm…so sorry!" Niko said, running to the back exit of the truck to grab Rufflet, leaping through the air—nearly a foot off of the ground—to catch the Eaglet Pokémon. "Listen to me, Rufflet! When I tell you to calm down, especially when you're hurt, you don't just go and attack other Pokémon!"

Rufflet went completely silent, and then nodded, recognizing that Niko was right. He then fought his way out of Niko's arms and flew off, perching himself on a streetlight, watching his trainer and friends from high above.

"I'm really sorry about this. I can help clean this place up—"

"NO!" The cook in the Red Emboar shouted. "You've destroyed _everything!_ Get out of my face!" He said, "Shoo! Shoo!"

Niko nodded cordially before spinning on his foot and turning to walk away, with Warren and Charlotte not far behind. "Well…that was something, wasn't it?" Warren said.

"Guess so." Niko said silently. "I wanted to just say hi to that Solosis, but then Rufflet had to go and attack it!"

"Well, to be fair Solosis _did_ provoke Rufflet." Charlotte said. Niko nodded, as if just remembering this. "But I suppose you're right, too."

"That Solosis was kind of mean. It's like it wanted Rufflet to attack it and destroy everything…" Warren said. But before Niko had a chance to respond, they heard a collection of loud sounds coming from behind them—from the east. "What the…?" Warren said, turning towards the sound and seeing a collection of motorbikes riding towards them.

"Let's get out of their way…" Niko said, motioning for his friends to step out of the bikers' way. They did, but it hardly helped, as they all scowled at Niko, Warren, and Charlotte. "What was that for?" Niko asked, slightly offended by the collection of expressions. Unfortunately, Charlotte and Warren weren't the only ones that heard him. The lead biker turned his motorcycle around, causing it to come to a screeching halt several meters away from him. All of the bikes stopped as well, with each of the bikers glaring menacingly at Niko and his friends.

"What did you say, _kid_?" The lead biker said. He didn't look happy. When Niko didn't answer, primarily out of fear, his scowl darkened. "I asked a question. Answer me!"

"I—ahem—said…'what was that for?'" Niko said nervously.

"And _why_ did you say that? Was I looking at ya funny or something?" He asked, now dismounting his motorcycle and taking slow, powerful steps towards Niko. He was tall and wide, with a black leather jacket and ripped up black jeans. His hair was a greasy mixture of brown and gray gelled back to reveal a rather large forehead. On his jacket was a picture of a crocodile with black glasses. Niko once more took a while to answer, which seemed to anger the biker. "How many times do I need to ask you something?"

"Just…once." Niko said, gulping midway. He felt the breath of the Biker inch towards his face as the man's overwhelming size leaned into him. "Why—why do you ask?"

"Because no one talks to Charles like that."

"I take it your name is Charles, then?" Warren asked.

"Did I ask you to speak, _boy_?" Charles said, snapping his head to Niko's right to glare at Warren. "NO. I did NOT!" He then turned back to Niko. "Listen, kid, you better apologize to me, or else you'll be praying to Arceus for mercy."

"I—no." Niko said, standing straight up. He never felt this sort of rush of confidence and courage. "I won't apologize for something you said to me."

Charles cracked his knuckles. "Very well, then. I challenge you to a Pokémon battle."

Niko raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. He thought Charles was going to physically harm him. "A…battle?"

"Yeah. That's how our biker gang settles the score. However, we've never been beaten before, so your Pokémon are in for a world of hurt. That is, if you accept, but you don't really have much of a choice in the matter."

"Well, if I don't have a choice, then sure." Niko said. "One-on-one?"

Charles let out a loud, obnoxious laugh. "No boy. Triple battle."

"Triple battle…?" Niko asked. He had never heard of these before. And…judging how long it took for him to learn double battles back in Hoenn, he didn't expect this to go well. However, he noticed Charlotte and Warren looked particularly nervous, and he nodded. "Of course. Triple battle it is." _Luckily I have three Pokémon_. He pulled out Roggenrola's pokéball just as Servine joined his side. "Rufflet!" Niko said, calling up to the Eaglet Pokémon perched on the lamppost. Rufflet noticed Niko, but then turned away, huffing a little. "…Really? I guess I don't have three Pokémon…"

"Looks like you lose by forfeit!" Charles said, again with a hearty, maniacal laugh. Niko scowled at Charles before turning to Servine and Roggenrola.

"I'm sorry, guys…" Niko said, just before he felt something press against his mind. "Oh! What the heck?" He said aloud, but no one knew what he was saying. Suddenly, he jerked his head towards the Red Emboar food truck and saw the Solosis from earlier floating towards him. "You—you're that Solosis that got me in trouble!"

Solosis nodded before pressing against Niko's mind once again. Then, he seemed to understand, as images of battling flitted through his head. Niko then responded with a silent "oh" in Solosis' direction.

"I don't forfeit." Niko turned to Charles. "I've got my third Pokémon right here." He said, pointing to Solosis.

"Niko, you know nothing about this Pokémon!" Warren said.

"It's fine. Whatever will help me. And Solosis clearly wants to." He then turned back to Charles. "So? What'll it be?"

Charles lifted up the left side of his leather jacket to reveal three pokéballs. "It's on. Sigilyph, Archen, Tirtouga, let's go!" Charles said, unleashing the now-familiar Avianoid Pokémon. To Sigilyph's immediate left was a Pokémon with a mixture of bird and reptilian features. Its head had scales on it, but its neck and wings were covered in feathers, all in primary colors. To the bird's left was a blue sea turtle with a dark blue shell.

" _Archen, the First Bird Pokémon. Rock and flying type. It was revived from an ancient fossil. Not able to fly, it lived in treetops and hopped from one branch to another_."

" _Tirtouga, the Prototurtle Pokémon. Water and Rock type. This Pokémon was restored from a fossil. It swam skillfully and dove to depths beyond half a mile_."

"Alright then. Servine, Roggenrola, Solosis. Let's go." Niko said, thrusting his hand forward. "Leaf tornado on Tirtouga, Rock Blast on Sigilyph! Solosis…attack Archen!" Niko shouted, unsure of the Cell Pokémon's attacks. Charles commanded his Pokémon to all attack Roggenrola and Servine with air cutter and ancientpower. However, Solosis leapt forward to block the attacks with a bright pink transparent wall, which Niko recognized as light screen. "Thanks, Solosis. Servine, Roggenrola—attack!"

"Sigilyph, use psybeam on Roggenrola! Archen, agility! Tirtouga, aqua jet on Roggenrola!" Charles commanded. The six Pokémon leapt into action, with Solosis using rollout to attack Archen, who was far faster than the small psychic type. Meanwhile, Servine protected Roggenrola from Tirtouga's attack with a defensive leaf tornado, but got hit by Sigilyph's psybeam, knocking her to the ground. "Now Sigilyph! Use air slash!" Charles called out.

"Roggenrola, block the attack with rock blast!" Niko shouted. "Servine, jump and use leaf tornado on Tirtouga! Solosis, rollout on Archen!" He commanded. Servine somersaulted through the air, over Roggenrola's intercepting rock blast, and launched a leaf tornado from the tip of her tail, which buffeted Tirtouga, knocking the Prototurtle to the ground. "Now, finish Tirtouga off with vine whip!" Niko commanded.

Meanwhile, Sigilyph spun and weaved through the series of rocks hurled at it before launching a psybeam up close, directly hitting Roggenrola at his feet and launching him through the air. The Mantle Pokémon luckily landed back on his feet and used rock blast once more, this time successfully hitting Sigilyph just as Servine defeated Tirtouga. Charles—now enraged—commanded Sigilyph to use whirlwind on Roggenrola. However, due to Roggenrola's weight, he managed to remain sturdy on the ground, unable to move.

"Roggenrola, finish Sigilyph off with rock blast! Solosis, use rollout on Sigilyph as well! Servine, leaf tornado on Archen!" Niko commanded, just as Charles commanded Archen to use agility and Sigilyph to use air cutter on Solosis, who took the attack and was repelled backwards. Niko, who managed to notice the attack, leapt forward to catch the Cell Pokémon in his arms. "You alright, Solosis?"

Solosis nodded before getting back into the fray, conjuring a light screen around Roggenrola to protect him from the oncoming psybeam. Solosis then used a psychic attack—Niko believed it to be psywave—on Archen, knocking the First Bird Pokémon backwards and at a high speed. Sigilyph then changed targets and used air slash on Solosis. Instead, Servine intercepted the attack and slammed into Solosis from the front, knocking both Pokémon to the ground. Solosis bounced a little before rolled across the empty street. Servine simply lay there, presumably unable to battle.

"Servine…return." Niko said, pulling out the Grass Snake's pokéball and returning his faithful Servine. "Roggenrola, use rock blast on Sigilyph!" He shouted, noticing that Solosis was struggling to get up. He turned to the Cell Pokémon while Roggenrola took attacks from Archen and slammed Sigilyph with another round of rock blast. "Solosis, can you get back up? It's okay if you can't…I appreciate the effort. I _really_ do."

Just then, Solosis shot up from off of the ground and began spinning through the air, slamming into Archen and launching it past the biker gang, nearly hitting a food truck. Roggenrola, noticing his chance was open, pelted Sigilyph with rock blasts before charging forward and delivered a finishing headbutt to the Avianoid Pokémon, knocking it to the ground, knocking over a motorcycle.

Charles stood there in shock, staring first at Sigilyph and then backwards towards Archen. He then turned back to Niko with a mixture of rage and surprise. Niko then kneeled down to pet Roggenrola and Solosis, who had responded by picking Roggenrola up and throwing him around playfully, which seemed to piss off the Mantle Pokémon.

"I guess I win." Niko said. "What does that mean for you?" He asked, even though it sounded more sarcastic than genuine.

"I—I'm sorry, then." He then turned to his gang and made some sort of hand motion. Every member of the gang then got on their bikes. "Have a good night." Charles said plainly before getting onto his own motorcycle and riding through the street and west, presumably in the direction of Driftveil City.

Stunned, Niko turned to his friends, who were congratulating him and his Pokémon on their win. The crowd from the performance festival—even the owner of The Red Emboar—was cheering for Niko. Solosis, seeing this, flew over to the owner, and the two seemed to be having a conversation.

Meanwhile, Niko felt something perch on his right shoulder. Turning, he saw Rufflet sitting there without emotion on his face. "Hey, buddy. I'm sorry for how I yelled at you. I know you were just being defensive. But you should apologize to Solosis for ruining The Red Emboar. It seems that Solosis is the owner's Pokémon."

Just then, Niko felt something familiar pressing against his mind. Turning in the direction of The Red Emboar, he noticed Solosis staring at him, projecting images into his mind of a pokéball and some blackened-out Pokémon being caught. Niko then interpreted the message, and turned to Rufflet and Roggenrola.

"How would you two feel about having another companion with us?" When his Pokémon expressed bemusement at this, Niko explained. "Solosis doesn't actually have an owner, and wants to join us. She—Solosis is apparently a female—also apologizes to you, Rufflet, for provoking you. Apparently she likes to play pranks on others…" Niko said, relaying the images from Solosis and trying to quickly translate them. "Yeah, that's it apparently." He then noticed Warren and Charlotte's bizarre expressions. "Solosis is sending me messages telepathically. Didn't know Pokémon could do that, but it doesn't surprise me."

"That's really weird, Niko." Warren commented. Charlotte nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's true. Anyways Rufflet, Roggenrola, would you want Solosis joining us?" Niko asked. Roggenrola—who seemed to appreciate the Cell Pokémon's efforts during their triple battle—was an easy "yes." Rufflet, on the other hand, took more time to consider it, but also nodded. "Great. Solosis, come on over here!" He said, waving to the psychic type. Niko then pulled out a pokéball and tossed it to Solosis, who intercepted it, started to turn red, and went into the pokéball, which fell to the ground like a heavy weight. Finally, the pokéball wiggled around before ultimately clicking, signaling the capture was successful.

"Take good care of Solosis, please." The owner of The Red Emboar said. "She's a prankster, but means well."

"I got that from our 'conversation,' but thanks. I'll do my very best!" Niko said. The owner nodded, eventually expressing a smile. "Well guys, want to enjoy the rest of the festival?" Niko asked to Warren, Charlotte, and his Pokémon. All of them nodded affirmatively, and the ever-growing group continued to peruse the variety of entertainment and food offered at the festival before continuing on with their journey towards Driftveil City.


	21. Learning to smack down!

**Episode 21: Learning to smack down**

The day following the Performance Festival, Niko and his friends continued their journey towards Driftveil City. Originally, Niko wanted to make up lost time, but was reminded that he didn't really have a reason to get to Driftveil City in such a hurry. So, they slowed down a bit, eventually taking a break in the early afternoon at the edge of the Driftveil Bridge.

The bridge was massive, to be sure. It stretched for nearly a mile, and was as red as a firetruck. Niko looked in awe at it, and simply stood there with his team of Pokémon as they observed the architectural wonder that was the Driftveil Bridge.

"Look at it, guys." He said to Servine, Rufflet, Roggenrola, and Solosis. "On the other end of that is our next gym battle. Want to get to training?" He said excitedly. Each of the Pokémon nodded with varying degrees of excitement. Rufflet was, without a doubt, the most excited by this, since he hadn't had much of a chance to battle since they had left Nimbasa City several days prior. And so the Eaglet Pokémon trained with Niko's newest Pokémon, Solosis, while Servine and Roggenrola paired up and exchanged attacks.

Solosis spent more time toying around with Rufflet instead of focusing on actually training, often using her psychic abilities to toss the Eaglet Pokémon around, which quickly enraged the bird, who fought back with an unexpectedly powerful peck attack. Noticing this, Niko smirked a little. _He's getting closer to aerial ace_ , Niko thought to himself. However, it was the other pair of Pokémon—Servine and Roggenrola—that drew most of Niko's attention. He noticed that Roggenrola's moves weren't hitting, usually because Servine was able to quickly and agilely evade most of them, and usually by jumping into the air.

Confused by this, Niko sat down next to Charlotte—who was reading—and Warren—who was chronicling the previous night's events in his booklet. Upon noticing his frustration, Charlotte looked up at Niko with a concerned look. "You alright, Niko?"

"Yeah. I'm just a little concerned about Roggenrola. He doesn't seem to be getting any better with his training. I wonder if trying to teach him a new move would help…but I don't know what."

Charlotte thought for a moment, placing her chin in her hand, with the book still sitting in her lap. Eventually, she perked back up and turned to Niko, which got his attention. "Smack down!"

"Smack down…?" Niko asked curiously.

"Yeah, smack down! It's a useful move for rock types, especially when you're facing a flying type Pokémon!"

"Well, what does it do?" Niko asked, just as he saw Roggenrola get launched into the air from Servine's leaf tornado.

"So, it basically launches a rock at the opponent, knocking it to the ground. If the opponent is already on the ground, it doesn't really have any side-effect." Charlotte explained. "I'm quite sure Roggenrola can learn it, too."

"Well, we can definitely try that when we get to Driftveil City!" Niko said enthusiastically. "Unless, of course, the Driftveil Gym is flying type. Then maybe we should wait on the match until after Roggenrola has mastered the move."

Charlotte nodded appreciatively before getting back to her book. Niko then called off the training and recollected with his Pokémon before the group set off along the Driftveil Bridge. It was uneasy at first, at least for Niko, but once he took the first few steps he felt fine. As they traversed the mile-long bridge, they noticed cars passing by them, going in both directions along the bridge. It reminded Niko and Warren of the Skyarrow Bridge—the first step in their journey, even though neither of them knew it at the time. Occasionally, they would see unfamiliar Pokémon flying high above them. At one point, a few of them dove down and attempted to attack Niko and his friends, to which Niko summoned Roggenrola to put down the birds with rock blast.

"Wow Roggenrola…" Niko said observantly. "You're getting better at aiming your rock blast."

Roggenrola turned to Niko with smug look on his face; proud that he was improving as a Pokémon. Niko then pulled out his pokédex to observe the Pokémon they had defeated:

" _Ducklett, the Water Bird Pokémon. Water and flying type. They are better at swimming than flying, and they happily eat their favorite food, peat moss, as they dive underwater_."

"Hmm…alright." Niko said, returning Roggenrola and continuing on with Warren and Charlotte.

* * *

Driftveil City was a major port city in Unova, and it was clear as soon as the trio got there. As usual, they immediately went to the Pokémon Center to heal up their Pokémon first. As it was still light outside, Niko considered trying to challenge the Gym Leader.

"So…according to the book here, the Gym Leader of Driftveil City is Clay. He uses ground types…" Charlotte said, continuing to read information on Clay.

"Ground types…?" Niko said, thinking about it for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time he challenged a ground type gym leader… _Giovanni from Viridian City…?_ He said to himself. _Yeah, guess so. But I've fought plenty of ground types before_. "We can do that, I think."

"This place has a lot of cool places to see, actually." Charlotte said, presumably still reading about Driftveil City. "There's a large marketplace; a lighthouse; the gym; and I think it's the site of the World Tournament."

"The World Tournament?" Niko asked.

"Yeah, well…one of them. It was the first city to host the World Tournament, which is why it's so famous. According to this, the World Tournament is a worldwide championship to determine the world's strongest trainer. Trainers from all around the world come to some selected city every ten years to compete. Even gym leaders and members of the Elite 4 compete in it, as well. Driftveil City was the first to build a stadium for it, and other cities have followed suit, like Lumiose City in Kalos and Mt. Silver in Johto." She said.

"Hmm…interesting." Niko said. He noticed Charlotte briefly look at him, but for some unknown purpose to him. "Anyways, I think I'll go try to see if I can challenge the gym leader. You guys want to join me?"

"Of course, we do!" Warren said, immediately getting up. "We can check out the market and lighthouse later. Niko's got a badge to win!"

Niko nodded with a nervous smile before also getting up, just as his Pokémon were ready for pick-up. He took them and placed the pokéballs in his pocket.

The Driftveil City Gym was to the north of the city, past a series of massive craters in the ground. It stood at the end of a road—a large, bronze-colored building with a pokéball symbol in the center of the center tower. On each corner of the building were towers with blue domed rooftops. Niko approached the front door of the gym, which had a sign on the front.

"Out for the day. -Clay." Niko said aloud. "Guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"That gives you some time to train, though." Charlotte said with an optimistic tone. Niko nodded, turning to her and smiling. "Smeargle and I can help you train, if you need the help."

"Thanks Charlotte. Yeah, let's head back to the Pokémon Center then." Niko said, turning to walk back down the lane.

Walking back into the city, the trio took a detour through the marketplace. Warren found some Moomoo Milk, stating that he's never had it before, as it's a foreign drink. Charlotte got some as well for Smeargle while Niko looked around for things his Pokémon might enjoy. He got a Lum Berry for Rufflet and some Carrots for Servine, but he had no idea what to get for the other two. He knew Roggenrola didn't really eat food—somehow—and Solosis hasn't shown a preference for anything in particular.

Eventually giving up, and getting something completely random for Solosis, Niko and his friends purchased their things and the trio went back to the Pokémon Center's practice battlefield as the sun was beginning to set.

"Alright Roggenrola, I want to try a new move with you." Niko said as he kneeled down to the Mantle Pokémon's level. "It's called smack down. I'm not sure what it looks like, but supposedly you just shoot a rock at your opponent and they should begin to fall to the ground if they're a flying type."

"Or if they're levitating!" Charlotte added.

"Or if they're levitating." Niko repeated. Roggenrola nodded, and turned around to face the battlefield. He seemed to concentrate for a moment before ultimately launching a rock into the air, but Niko recognized it as rock blast. "So…uh…that was rock blast, Roggenrola. Let's try smack down."

Roggenrola nodded, still feeling confident in himself. He continued to shoot rocks into the air aimlessly; all of them looked like rock blast. Niko kept shaking his head before sitting down next to Roggenrola and explaining to him how he believed the move worked. Roggenrola nodded and continued trying, launching rocks through the air until he couldn't anymore, eventually sitting down on the ground.

"Don't give up, Roggenrola…" Niko said, patting the Mantle Pokémon. "We can do this. Let's give it another shot, alright?"

Roggenrola nodded again and stood back up—with Niko's help. Aiming into the sky, he concentrated hard and shot out…another rock blast. Roggenrola stomped the ground angrily before running over to a nearby wall and headbutting it in rage.

"Maybe a practice battle will help?" Charlotte suggested, pulling out a pokéball. Niko turned to her and shrugged.

"I'm not sure what'll help, but we can try. Hey, Roggenrola, want to try practicing smack down in a battle setting?" Niko asked. Roggenrola nodded and stood back up straight, waddling over to Niko. "Alright, let's give it a try. Charlotte and Smeargle are going to help us out, alright?" Roggenrola gave his approval, albeit not looking entirely up to the task.

"Smeargle, let's do this!" Charlotte said, appearing with the Painter Pokémon on the opposite end of the battlefield. "Use hex!"

Smeargle conjured a purple and black sphere with a red eye in the middle and launched it at Roggenrola, who countered with a rock blast. The two attacks collided in the middle of the field, forcing the hex attack to dissipate and the rock blast to shatter into dozens of smaller pieces. Niko then commanded Roggenrola to use smack down.

However, instead of using the attack, Roggenrola shot out another rock blast, which slammed into Smeargle's chest and launched her backwards, knocking her onto her back. At the revelation that he couldn't successfully use the attack, Roggenrola threw a second temper tantrum, running wildly into the wall behind Niko once more, slamming his head into the wall once more, repeating this process multiple times. Eventually, Niko returned Roggenrola to his pokéball so that the Mantle Pokémon couldn't do any more damage, either to himself or the environment around him. Letting out a heavy sigh, Niko walked back into the Pokémon Center to heal up Roggenrola and his other Pokémon, with Warren and Charlotte closely following by.

"I just don't know what he's getting wrong!" Niko said, lightly slamming a fist on the table. "Why can't we figure this out? Don't Roggenrola normally learn smack down?" He asked, posing the question to Charlotte.

"I believe so…but I don't know why he can't figure it out." She said with a nervous shrug. "I just hope he'll be alright. It doesn't look like he's in a good mental state right now."

"He probably just hasn't experienced failure." Warren said sympathetically. "I'm sure Roggenrola is going to fine."

"I hope so…" Niko said, thinking back to the other times where he had to deal with a Pokémon's lack of confidence. In many ways these moments reminded him of himself. He had given up because he lost confidence in himself, and he ultimately ended up hurting others in the process. However, he never quite understood how to help others facing the same problems.

Later, Niko and his friends had gone to bed. Since leaving Castelia City, Niko had gotten back into the habit of letting his Pokémon sleep outside of their pokéball. Servine was laying on his bed; Rufflet was perched atop the bed; Solosis was hovering a foot or two above the bed; and Roggenrola lay against the leg of a chair.

But that night in particular, Roggenrola had difficulty sleeping, and eventually woke up. After having a little difficulty getting onto his feet, he started to waddle away from Niko's bed at the far end of the Pokémon Center's room and towards the door. However, he couldn't figure out how to leave the room without blowing a massive hole in the door, which would inevitably wake up his trainer and their other friends.

As Roggenrola was about to give up and try and fall asleep, he noticed Solosis floating there in front of him, which initially scared him. The Mantle Pokémon leapt backwards out of fright. The Cell Pokémon then gargled quietly before using her psychic powers to open the door and let Roggenrola out. Solosis then followed him down the hallway and out onto the practice battlefield, closing the door to the room on their way out. No one had any idea they were gone.

Roggenrola stepped out onto the field, hearing Solosis moving through the air around him. He focused his energy on one specific target—directly in front of him—and fired off a rock.

It was another rock blast.

Roggenrola stomped the ground angrily before seeing images in his mind's eye from Solosis. These images showed another rock type Pokémon—it looked like Roggenrola, but _much_ larger—using a glowing metallic gold orb of energy and launching it at its opponent, knocking it to the ground before using another attack to finish them off. Presumably, Roggenrola thought, these were memories from Solosis. That's when he understood.

He focused once again, this time on the images Solosis provided him. He then did everything he could to conjure the glowing gold orb, but only barely created small gold sparks before the attack dissipated into thin air. Roggenrola felt despair, but continued on all the same. He repeated the move a dozen more times before finally creating and holding the golden orb directly in front of his ear for several seconds. However, actually launching the attack took more effort, but Roggenrola was determined. Using up all of his energy, he shot the golden orb directly in front of him, suddenly hearing a pained gargling sound. Solosis had taken the hit from smack down, and fell to the ground just as the gold orb exploded upon contact. Roggenrola quickly wobbled over to Solosis to make sure his teammate was alright. As it turned out, Solosis felt fine, but didn't expect the attack to work as well as it did. Feeling better again, Roggenrola leapt an inch into the air with joy.

As soon as he landed, Roggenrola began to glow a bright white color.

* * *

Niko woke up to Charlotte's loud gasp, and Warren shaking him. Opening his sleepy eyes, he looked over his bed to see an unfamiliar Pokémon sitting there.

"Oh geez, what the hell?" Niko said. The new Pokémon was blue and made entirely of rock. There was an array of red crystals on its back and front, and a spine protruding from between its yellow ears. Rocky chunks at its sides comprise pincer-like limbs, tipped with red crystals similar to the ones on its back. He pulled out his pokédex:

" _Boldore, the Ore Pokémon. Rock type. When it is healthy, its core sticks out. Always facing the same way, it swiftly moves front to back and left to right_."

"Wait a second…Roggenrola, is that you…?" Niko asked, now sitting up on the edge of his bed. The Boldore nodded proudly, and began waddling across the room and out into the hallway. Niko then frantically got dressed into his travelling clothes and ran off to catch up to Boldore, with Warren and Charlotte following closely behind.

Niko found Boldore standing in the middle of the practice battlefield. Once he and his Pokémon showed up to watch, Boldore then faced in a different direction. Niko noticed a glowing gold orb show up in front of the Ore Pokémon, and once it got to nearly a foot in diameter, Boldore launched it across the battlefield, exploding upon contact with part of the wall separating the battlefield from the rest of Driftveil City.

"Boldore…you figured it out!?" Niko said, rushing onto the battlefield to congratulate his Pokémon. "How'd you do it?" Boldore turned to Solosis, who was hovering to the Pokémon's right. When Niko noticed this, he simply smiled and then hugged Boldore and thanked Solosis. "Well then…guess we're ready to take on the Driftveil City Gym, right guys?" He said, looking at all four of his Pokémon. They all cheered excitedly.

"Think Niko can win this one?" Warren asked Charlotte as he usually did.

"Of course he can. With Boldore and the others, I don't think he _can_ lose." She said confidently.


	22. The Boss of the Underground

**Episode 22: The Boss of The Underground**

The Driftveil Gym was finally open the second time Niko and his friends visited it in the northern part of Driftveil City. Niko then opened the front door to enter the gym, with Charlotte and Warren following closely behind. The first thing they noticed was an elevator, which Niko instinctively walked up to and opened up. Before he could do anything, the elevator doors immediately closed and began moving, presumably downwards.

"Guess they just assume visitors are going to the battlefield…" Niko commented. For rock and ground type specialists, this was certainly a new experience for him.

"What kinds of Pokémon do you think the Gym Leader uses?" Warren asks.

"Well, ground types." Charlotte replied. "So…could be anything. I can imagine he might have something from the Sandile line of evolution. They're pretty popular Pokémon among trainers here."

"Oh, right! There are a few famous trainers with Krookodiles, right?" Warren asked, with an affirmative from Charlotte. "I've heard those are pretty strong. Watch out, Niko."

"Wow, you guys are so optimistic about my chances, aren't ya?" Niko said, leaning back to look at them.

"I'm just curious! I've never seen a ground type specialist before!" Warren said. "And I don't know about many ground type Pokémon in general!"

"Fair enough." Niko said, shrugging. "I think Servine will help me out a lot. Plus, I have Rufflet who is resistant to ground types."

"Both are true." Charlotte said with a smile. "You're more confident, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?" Niko asked.

"I don't know. You just seem different, I guess."

"Maybe I just had a revelation of some sort." Niko said with a wink. Warren, who had no idea what either of them were referencing, looked bemused for a moment before thinking of something else to talk about.

Turns out, Warren didn't need to. The trio had finally made it to the end of the elevator extending from the front entrance of the gym to the actual battlefield, which was clearly underground. Opening the door to the battlefield room, Niko noticed large flood lights on the top of steel towers. The battlefield was set on hard, uneven, rocky ground: unlike the normal smooth, dirty fields that Niko was accustomed to. At the opposite end of the field was a short man in a cowboy outfit watching an Onix burrow a hole in the wall. Upon seeing Niko standing there, he smirked.

"Ah, looks like I have a challenger. Howdy, young man! Who might ya be?" He asked, returning the Onix to its pokéball and approached Niko and his friends.

"I'm Niko from Pallet Town. I'd like to challenge you for your gym badge." Niko said confidently. He was certainly taller than the Driftveil Gym Leader, but apparently not by much—he was taller then he originally appeared.

"Clay's tha name, mining's mah name! Welcome to the Driftveil Gym, son!" He said, vigorously shaking Niko's hand. "Now, my gym battles are three-vs-three. Are ye up to that?"

"Yes, I am." Niko said, and watched as Clay walked to his right, stopping at one end of the field. Niko walked to the opposite end. And both pulled out pokéballs and began the match, with a referee on standby now standing on the sidelines in the middle.

"Krokorok, I choose ya!" Clay shouted, summoning a tan, bipedal, crocodile-like Pokémon.

" _Krokorok, the Desert Croc Pokémon. Ground and dark type. Protected by thin membranes, their eyes can see even in the dead of night. They live in groups of a few individuals_."

"Rufflet, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his own first Pokémon. "Let's start off with hone claws!"

"Krokorok, use crunch!" Clay shouted. The Croc Pokémon then, surprisingly, crouched low to the ground and immediately leapt into the air, fangs baring from its long mouth. Rufflet was sharpening his claws in midair as his opponent was attacking, and quickly had to swoop out of the way to dodge the move. As Krokorok landed, Clay commanded his Pokémon to use the attack once more. Rufflet then spun around just in time to dodge Krokorok once again, but barely—the Desert Croc Pokémon's mouth was inches away from Rufflet's talon.

"Wing attack!" Niko commanded. Rufflet then shot into the air before quickly turning and diving back towards the ground and slamming into Krokorok, causing a small explosion of dust to rise into the air. "Now, use hone claws again!"

"Crunch!" Clay shouted. It was clear by now that this was the only move he _could_ use, but he hardly seemed irritated about it. Almost as if he was used to fighting flying types. This time, Krokorok finally snapped his jaws on Rufflet's talon and quickly lowering its snout to the ground, slamming the Eaglet Pokémon into the floor. Krokorok then used crunch to once more grab Rufflet's talon and throw him across the field before dashing once more and slamming into Rufflet with the full force of its body. "Well done, Krokorok! Finish Rufflet off with crunch!"

"Rufflet, you can do this!" Niko called out. "Never give up, buddy!"

Hearing this, Rufflet shook his head in an attempt to regain his composure and flew into the air, just as Krokorok slammed into the wall behind Rufflet. The Eaglet then shot higher into the air, turning around above the midpoint of the battlefield, several yards away, to stare at Krokorok.

"Use peck!" Niko shouted. He knew that Rufflet's peck was far stronger now, and might not even be classified as such anymore. No, Niko believed Rufflet was on the verge of learning a new move.

And so Rufflet dove towards Krokorok, his beak glowing white before thin tendrils of light erupted from the beak and surrounded his body. Rufflet then crashed into Krokorok, repelling the Desert Croc Pokémon and forcing it into the wall behind it. Rufflet then safely got back into the air, flapping in place near Niko.

"Krokorok is unable to battle, Rufflet is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Clay will send out his second Pokémon!"

"Great job, Rufflet!" Niko shouted. "That move is called aerial ace, by the way! It never misses!"

Rufflet turned to his trainer and cawed out happily, clearly proud of himself. They both watched Clay return his Krokorok in exchange for his second Pokémon, which Niko easily recognized.

"Sandslash, I choose you!" Clay shouted, smirking a little. "Crush claw!"

"Rufflet, hone claws." Niko said calmly. He felt confident that he could beat Clay. But that was exactly when he should feel the least confident, from his experience. Sandslash charged across the field towards Rufflet, its claws sparkling blue and white. Rufflet then rose into the air to dodge the move. "Alright, now let's go down with aerial ace!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand into the air.

Rufflet charged down towards Sandslash, whose claws were ready to use crush claw a second time. Before the crush claw hit, Rufflet crashed into Sandslash, shoving the Mouse Pokémon back with the sheer force of the impact. However, Sandslash was now able to land an attack, and slashed rufflet across the stomach, repelling him backwards. Rufflet crashed into the hard, rocky surface and rolled backwards a little before collapsing in front of Niko.

"You can do this, Rufflet." Niko kept saying. "We _never_ give up. You know this." Rufflet nodded, slowly getting back up. Seeing this, Clay smirked.

"I appreciate the moxie of yer Pokémon, Niko." The Gym Leader shouted out. "Makes the battle more innerestin!"

"I appreciate that, Clay. Rufflet, use aerial ace, and follow up with fury attack!" Niko commanded, pointing a finger forward towards Sandslash. Rufflet got back up and glided across the field, the white tendrils signifying aerial ace surrounding the small Eaglet Pokémon. Sandslash then curled up into a ball and began rolling towards Rufflet until the two collided, creating a wave of dust and dirt to explode everywhere.

Once the dust settled, Rufflet lay on the ground and Sandslash was still standing, albeit with some difficulty.

"Rufflet is unable to battle, Sandslash is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Boldore, I choose you!" Niko commanded, summoning his newly evolved Ore Pokémon. He had originally wanted to use Solosis, but he didn't feel like the Cell Pokémon was ready to fight, and Boldore seemed much too excited to actually compete in a gym battle as a newly evolved Pokémon. "Let's start off with sand attack!"

Boldore surrounded himself with a wall of dirt and sand particles and then launched them in every direction, nearly blinding Sandslash, who used its claws to protect itself. Clay then commanded Sandslash to use an attack called bulldoze, which Niko had never heard of.

"Oh no…" Charlotte said. "Bulldoze is a nasty move…"

"Why, what does it—oh man." Warren said, watching the move execute. Sandslash stomped on the ground and created a shock wave that rippled across the field, hitting Boldore and launching him into the air. Sandslash's claws then began pulsating blue and white and it jumped into the air to intercept Boldore, slashing at the Ore Pokémon and slamming him into the ground.

"Boldore!" Niko shouted. "Use smack down!"

"Sandslash, bulldoze!" Clay commanded. A golden orb conjured in front of Boldore and then launched just as Sandslash crashed into the ground, creating another shock wave that rippled across the battlefield towards Boldore. Both attacks hit at the same time, launching both Sandslash and Boldore in opposite directions. Clay grit his teeth, as did Niko.

"Boldore, can you keep going?" Niko asked. He knew the Ore Pokémon had more in him…it was just a matter of whether or not he knew it, as Boldore seemed to have a problem with self-confidence. The Ore Pokémon nodded, albeit begrudgingly, and stood back up.

"Sandslash, bulldoze!" Clay commanded.

"Smack down!" Niko called out. Once more the two Pokémon launched their attacks, which hit the other with enough force to simultaneously knock each other out, which is what ultimately happened.

"Boldore and Sandslash are both unable to battle! Leader Clay and Challenger Niko will now summon their third and final Pokémon!"

"Wow, it's coming down to the line…" Warren observed. "Luckily Niko still has Servine!"

"Well, Clay probably still has his ace. If you've noticed, gym leaders tend to send out their strongest Pokémon last." Charlotte said, giving off the impression that she was concerned. As it turned out, she wasn't.

"Servine, I choose you!" Niko commanded, summoning his trusty Grass Snake Pokémon. To this, Clay smirked.

"Excadrill, I choose ya!" Clay shouted, throwing out a pokéball that contained a massive mole-like Pokémon. It had a dark brown body with diagonal, red splotches; short legs with small, narrow feet; a small white face that was long and thin, with a pink nose at the tip. However, it's most prominent features involved a large blade roughly twice as large as its face extends from its forehead. The top of the blade contains two smaller blades that resembled fins. Lastly, it had thick arms, each with three large blades instead of fingers, with two smaller blades on top of the middle ones.

" _Excadrill, the Subterrene Pokémon. Ground and steel type. Forming a drill with its steel claws and head, it can bore through a steel plate, no matter how thick it is_."

"Oh, I remember these Pokémon! Niko, they're very strong!" Charlotte shouted to her friend. She merely got a glare in response.

"Then why didn't you _say_ something earlier!?" Niko shouted back, suddenly feeling a little intimidated.

"I…I forgot…" Charlotte said innocently. "Sorry…"

"Heh, it's fine. I'm sure we'll figure something out, right Servine?" Niko asked his Pokémon, who nodded without turning her gaze from Excadrill. "Now, let's use leaf tornado!"

"Excadrill, use bulldoze!" Clay commanded. Excadrill slammed both of its arm-blades into the ground with enough force to cause a light earthquake throughout the battlefield. Servine, as agile as she was, was able to leap through the air to dodge the move, and somersaulted before landing a leaf tornado on Excadrill, who winced a little from the force of the attack, which seemed more irritating than forceful. "Hmm…use rock slide!"

Excadrill summoned nearly a dozen rocks from the ground using its arm-blades and tossed them at Servine as she landed onto the ground. Niko then commanded her to use a combination of defensive leaf tornado as a last resort, and vine whip to knock aside the rocks that she reasonably could. For the most part, Servine successfully blocked the move, but accidentally let in a couple of rocks which knocked her backwards. She fell onto her back, which gave Excadrill the opportunity to use bulldoze and launch her back into the air.

"Excadrill, metal claw!" Clay commanded. For the first time, Excadrill changed its position, charging forward with its arm-blades glowing a light gray color. It slashed at Servine, who blocked with a leaf tornado before spinning around and slapping Excadrill across the face with vine whip. She then landed on the ground gracefully before leaping backwards to dodge each successive slash from metal claw. "Bulldoze!"

"Servine, leap into the air and use leaf tornado!" Niko shouted, suddenly coming up with an idea. It seemed like Servine sensed this, as she spun quickly through the air and launched a leaf tornado to briefly put Excadrill at bay before sensing Niko's next command. "Now, vine whip the blade on Excadrill's head!" He called out. Servine nodded, summoning two green vines from her neck and, similar to her battle against Cheren's Lillipup, all the way back in Aspertia City, Servine attempted to throw Excadrill.

However, Excadrill was _not_ Lillipup. It was far heavier than a small terrier dog. So, instead of throwing Excadrill, Servine managed to simply force the Subterrene Pokémon to the ground. Servine then spun around viciously and used leaf tornado to subdue Excadrill before charging forward, leaping into the air, and spinning horizontally with her vines extending out as far as they could, slapping Excadrill across its torso as Servine descended to the ground.

"Finish it off with leaf tornado!" Niko shouted. Just as Servine was nearly a foot from Excadrill's body, which was still laying on its back, she rolled downwards and unleashed a final leaf tornado, aiming directly at Excadrill's face this time. Servine then landed in front of Clay, just a few feet from the Gym Leader's strongest Pokémon.

For a moment, Niko, Servine, and Clay all waited to see what Excadrill would do. The longer they waited, the clearer it became that Excadrill was unable to battle, and the referee declared it as such.

"…the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared. Niko kneeled on the ground to embrace Servine, who was normally stoic about her victories, but this time was different. She didn't take too many hits from Excadrill, which proved to both her and Niko that she was getting much stronger, and much faster. And Niko was very proud of her.

"Niko…" Clay said as he and Excadrill met their victorious challenger on his end of the field. "That was an excellent battle, son. You've really shown us your stuff. Here, the Quake Badge, as proof that you've defeated me. Best of luck in your journey and in the Unova League."

"Thanks, Clay. I think my team and I were quite pleased with this battle as well." He said, looking down at Servine as he took the Quake Badge, which was a small golden badge in the shape of a vertical piece of earth, with the top half cracked and slid out of place, resembling the result of an earthquake. He then showed the badge to Warren and Charlotte, both of whom were standing to his right.

"Congrats, Niko! Only three left!" Warren said excitedly. "Wow…that's crazy!"

"And it'll only get harder from here, I think." Niko said, peering down at the Quake Badge. "I mean…I can only assume it will."

"The road to winning all of the badges in Unova is not an easy one, Niko." Clay interjected. "Us gym leaders are smart—we know how to gauge an opponent's strength, and try to meet that strength. Rarely is one badge easier to obtain than the ones preceding it. Keep that in mind."

"I will. Thanks for the advice." Niko said, returning Servine to her pokéball. "Now, let's head back to the Pokémon Center. I think my Pokémon deserve a reward for this." He said, now smiling as he looked upon the Quake Badge. Warren and Charlotte nodded, and the trio of them exited the battlefield—and the gym—using the elevator, waving farewell to Clay as they ascended through the Driftveil City Gym, ready to begin the next leg of their adventure in Unova.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I just wanted to point out how much I enjoy writing Snivy/Servine. I truly enjoy writing most of Niko's Pokemon-with rare exception-but this season I think I enjoy Servine the most, at least at this point. She's got a Sceptile feel to her, but with more stoicism in her personality. And this battle kind of shows how much of a badass she is. Same with Rufflet, whom I also enjoyed writing here-he's starting to fit his pokedex entry more and more.**

 **I also hope you enjoyed this episode!**


	23. Through the seasons

**Episode 23. Through the Seasons**

Niko sat in their regular booth in the Pokémon Center, near a window on the side of the building. He had just defeated Clay of the Driftveil City Gym, and earned his fifth badge in Unova. He had only been on a journey for nearly a month now, but it still seemed surreal that he was doing this again. Even weirder was that, at the beginning of the calendar year, he was travelling through Sinnoh, still earning his gym badges there. And here he was, coming to the end of the calendar year in the coming month, off in another region and over halfway to completing a gym challenge in another region.

 _Am I moving too fast?_ Niko thought to himself. _If I want to attempt another run at a Pokémon League, are my Pokémon getting stronger at a fast-enough pace? Because…if I get to the Unova League, can I really count on everyone I abandoned back in Pallet Town? I told them they could leave if they wanted to, and never got a chance to see how they reacted to my leaving. So I can't really expect their help. And that means I have to rely on these four—and whoever I might meet in the future._

"So Niko, there's a gym in Mistralton City." Warren finally said. "It's maybe a week's journey from here, or more than that if we take our time. The only major roadblock we have is Chargestone Cave, which is actually closer to Mistralton City."

"Oh, cool." Niko said. "How'd you find all of this out?"

"Charlotte." Warren said, pointing a thumb to their third companion, who was busy reading her book on the Unova region. She looked up and nodded curtly, and with a smile as usual.

"Great. When do you want to leave?" Niko asked.

"Maybe tonight?" Warren asked. "That way we can get a head-start." Niko nodded. It made sense to him. "Let's go grab some supplies and then we can head out after that?"

Later that afternoon, as the sun was setting, Niko and his friends turned to look at Driftveil City for the last time before continuing on their journey. To be sure, not much significant happened while there, besides Niko obtaining a gym badge. However, the view of the city was beautiful at sunset, with the orange sheen of the water glimmering in the distance. Then the trio turned the other way and continued walking up the hill towards route 6, the first leg of their journey to Mistralton City.

That evening, the trio made some headway on route 6, but were stopped when it began to rain heavily. Looking around, they found a small enclave nearby to sit in and wait out the storm. Once they were in a drier area, Niko looked down at his drenched clothes. He'd never really dealt with this before, as he had usually only brought a few sets of clothes on his journey.

"So…" He finally said. "Can we get a fire going?"

Charlotte nodded, sending out Smeargle and asking her to use ember. The Painter Pokémon nodded after Swadloon and Servine brought in some sticks to create a campfire with. Soon enough, there was a fire going, warm enough for the entire group. Meanwhile, each of the humans changed into different clothes and dried off their wet ones, hoping that the rain didn't ruin any of the fabric.

Sitting in black athletic pants and a thin sweater, Niko stared at the fire passively while Warren was chronicling their day and Charlotte was either reading or trying to speed up the process of drying her clothes. Meanwhile, Servine and Solosis were sleeping while Boldore was playing some sort of game involving rocks with Rufflet. Poliwag was watching Warren write before falling asleep as well, and Swadloon was just playing around with her leaf coat. Smeargle was busy sketching something on the wall of the cave they were sitting in.

As his friends slowly went to sleep, Niko eventually stood up, walked around the fire, and stared out onto the expanse of land ahead of them. Route 6 was different from most of Unova that they've seen thus far. For one thing, weather seemed to be more prominent in this part of the region. Secondly, the foliage seemed more lush than normal. It was a beautiful sight, and reminded Niko of parts of Sinnoh that he had seen. Of all of the regions he had visited prior to Unova, Sinnoh exhibited the most variable weather. Kanto and Johto were more temperate, and Hoenn was generally sunny throughout their journey. But Sinnoh and Unova were different, and Niko appreciated that.

As he was considering all of this, he gradually noticed the raindrops freeze up over time, ultimately turning to snowflakes. It was snowing!"

Excited, Niko turned to wake Warren—who was not pleased—and Charlotte up to show them. "Look guys, it's snowing now!"

"Great…" Warren said groggily before heading back to bed. Charlotte seemed only slightly more enthusiastic, but woke Smeargle up and asked her to use ember once more to keep the fire going.

"Niko, please make your next Pokémon a fire type…" She muttered before falling asleep next to Smeargle. Niko nervously laughed to himself before turning back to watch the snow fall for a while longer, eventually succumbing to sleep as well.

The following morning, the trio woke up, heated their clothes a little, and took off on route 6. Most of the day was spent travelling, usually along one of the many rivers running through and across the route. Along the way, Niko got see a fair amount of unfamiliar Pokémon while wading through the snow. One of them was a small white-capped, mushroom-like Pokémon that reminded Niko of Paras and Parasect.

" _Foongus, the Mushroom Pokémon. Grass and poison type. It lures Pokémon with its pattern that looks just like a pokéball then releases poison spores_."

"Eek…" Niko said. "Glad I wasn't in search of a pokéball or something." He said before turning away from the Foongus and continuing on.

"Yeah, Foongus can be troublesome." Charlotte added. "But they're helpful in growing mushrooms for consumption."

"We don't… _eat_ those things, do we?" Niko asked.

"Nope!" Charlotte replied with a smile, hiding behind her thick red sweater, which nearly doubled her already small figure. "But they grow other mushrooms that we _do_ eat!"

"I don't prefer mushrooms, personally…" Niko began. "But I think I recall someone at my old job referencing Foongus before. I just didn't get the reference."

Due to the snow on the ground, which seemed to pile up as time went on, the trio didn't make significant progress on the first day of their journey. By nightfall, it was no longer snowing, and the trio took refuge under a collection of trees near a river. Fortunately, there was a path of grass untainted by the snow that they could sit by and rest at.

"I hope I have a chance to work with my Pokémon." Niko said as he leaned up against part of the tree trunk. "This weather isn't that great." He said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Niko." Charlotte said. "You'll be just fine. I think that battle against Clay was one of your better ones yet, so your Pokémon seem to be in top shape."

"I hope they are…" Niko said, looking down at Servine's pokéball. He didn't want the Grass Snake Pokémon to have to deal with the cold weather, and so kept her in her ball. "Either way, we should be out of this weather soon. Maybe another day of this!" Warren, who had been writing for most of their break that evening, looked up and nodded. That night passed in much the same way as those previous, with most of the humans doing their own thing and the Pokémon—those that were most comfortable outside of their pokéballs—hung around with their trainers. Soon enough everyone was asleep, even Niko.

* * *

The following morning Niko spent some time training with Solosis and Rufflet, as they seemed more accustomed to the colder weather somehow, and were therefore more comfortable. Rufflet was practicing his aerial ace, focusing specifically on the speed of the attack. Solosis, as the target, tried to slow Rufflet down with psywave and collide into the Eaglet Pokémon with rollout. She would also conjure a reflect move to minimize the impact of aerial ace, which tended to work.

After a while, Solosis seemed to be getting more and more exhausted, but tried to not give up, having heard about what Niko was telling the other Pokémon during their gym battle with Clay.

Just then, as Rufflet was about to land an aerial ace, something caught his eye, and he nearly missed Solosis—which never happens. Niko noticed this, and glared at his Pokémon with a bemused expression.

"Rufflet, what happened?" He asked. Rufflet shrugged, pointing a wing towards the direction of the thing that he noticed. He then started flying off to go find it, with Solosis and Niko following closely behind.

"Niko, where're you going?" Charlotte asked, standing up and slinging her bag over her head. They had already packed up and were getting ready to leave, fortunately. Warren hastily placed his booklet and pen and ran off with Charlotte.

Everyone stopped at the edge of a small clearing, as Rufflet and Solosis were cautiously floating towards a small deer-like Pokémon. The upper side of its body was brown, and it had a yellow patterned rim with a peach underside. On the top of its head was a floral tuft, and a similar yellow coloration on the insides of its tapering ears. The tips of its limbs were colored black and its pink tail was small. Niko pulled out his pokédex to check it out:

" _Deerling, the Season Pokémon. Normal and grass type. Their coloring changes according to the seasons and can be slightly affected by the temperature and humidity as well_."

"It's so cute!" Charlotte said. However, the Deerling seemed frightened when Rufflet charged down at it, obviously without caution nor provocation. The Deerling then ran off. "Wait, Deerling!" She said, running off after it. "Rufflet! What the hell?" She snapped at the Eaglet Pokémon, who now looked absolutely ashamed of himself. Charlotte then continued running after it until she reached a building with a satellite dish on the top of a thin tower in the back. In the yard in front of the building, which Charlotte realized looked more like a laboratory, were a flock of Deerling and their apparent evolution, Sawsbuck. Slowing her pace to a casual walk, she proceeded down the road towards the laboratory, where the Deerling that Rufflet scared was standing near the front door.

"Hey there…" Charlotte said softly. "I'm sorry about my friend's Pokémon. He's a little…eccentric." She got down onto one knee and held out her hand, which had a berry in it. "My name's Charlotte. Don't worry, I don't bite!"

The Deerling cautiously looked at Charlotte before trotting forward and eating the berry from her hand. It seemed to like it, and smiled a little.

"Ah, there you are!" A tall, purple-haired woman in a lab coat said as she opened the sliding glass front doors. "I've been looking all over for you!" She then kneeled down and pet the Deerling before noticing Charlotte now standing a few feet away. "Oh, hello there. How may I help you?"

"Oh, my friends and I just found this Deerling running around in a clearing nearby and it ran back here. My friend's Rufflet accidentally scared it off, and I chased it down to apologize. And…my name's Charlotte. Hi."

"My name is Adrienne. I'm a researcher here at the Season Research Lab. And as a thanks for returning one of our Deerling, would you and your friends like a tour of the lab?"

"Sure!" Warren shouted from behind Charlotte, who turned to see both of her male companions standing there with Rufflet and Solosis. At the sight of the Eaglet Pokémon, Deerling hid behind Adrienne's leg nervously.

"Rufflet, return." Niko said, suddenly reading the room.

"Adrienne, these are my friends, Niko and Warren. We're all travelling through Unova together."

"Oh? Then I'm sure you'd all appreciate checking out what we've got here."

"Of course!" Warren said, taking a few steps to close the distance between him and Charlotte. "Any chance to see unique things in Unova is a chance worth taking!"

"I love the attitude. Come, let me show you around." Adrienne said, motioning for the trio—and Solosis—to follow her inside.

The inside of the laboratory was just like any ordinary lab. Machines and desks were scattered about, with nearly a dozen scientists all working with data and specific programs to run their studies. Adrienne walked them over to a desk in the back corner and shuffled some papers around before addressing her guests once more.

"This laboratory is a facility dedicated to the research of the seasons. We're also a greenhouse, and the plants we grow depend on the season. We're actually in the middle of planting a new set, since Winter began yesterday. Would you like to go see the greenhouse?" The trio nodded, and Adrienne and Deerling began walking out through a back exit into a tunnel with glass walls all around them. "As you can imagine, Deerling has been a subject of interest for us at this lab. In fact, it's part of the reason we got our grant to create this lab. A wealthy businessman in Driftveil City wanted to further understand why Deerling and Sawsbuck change their forms at the start of new seasons. And so while we study these Pokémon, we also study the seasons more generally."

"Must be fun. What made you want to study seasons?" Warren asked.

"Oh, I wanted to study Deerling, actually. The seasons is just part of it. I got my degree in Pokémon biology. But the way seasons change, and the impact they have on the environment is nevertheless fascinating." She said with a sparkle in her eye. Deerling looked up at her, and then reared its head back briefly at Charlotte, who smiled back.

They finally made it to the greenhouse, which was full of gardeners cleaning up the place and potting a wide assortment of plants. Niko walked over to the glass window and gently placed his hand on it. Suddenly, his hand felt like it was on fire.

"OW! What the—?" He said, caressing his lightly burnt hand.

"Oh…the glass has to be hot during the winter." Adrienne said with an empathetic look. "Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." She added with a light laugh. "Anyways, this is the greenhouse. We've got a variety of plants that we grow here, all for the purpose of studying what grows best in winter and under what specific conditions during that seasons that they need to grow."

Charlotte wandered around the aisles of different plants. After a few moments, she noticed the Deerling following her. "Oh, hello there." She said, crouching down and petting the Deerling on its head. "Do you like living here? There's lots of beautiful plants and flowers!"

Deerling nodded, albeit hesitantly. Charlotte noticed this and expressed confusion. Why would the Deerling not enjoy living around so many of its kind? It seemed like Adrienne took care of them, so what could this Deerling possibly want?

Putting the thought aside, Charlotte continued walking around with Deerling for a bit, examining the greenhouse some more before reuniting with Niko and Warren. They were sitting near the entrance, with Niko watching Solosis examine the plants and Warren taking notes of what he was seeing. "You guys seem to be enjoying this." She said teasingly.

"I guess so." Niko said, still watching Solosis. "I don't know much about science, or seasonal science. So none of this really makes sense to me. But I certainly appreciate the detour to check this out!" He added, trying to lighten the conversation a little more. He then noticed Deerling standing at Charlotte's side. "That Deerling is really taking a liking to you."

"Oh, you noticed?" She asked, again teasingly. "Yeah, I don't know why really, but it's a kind Pokémon. I wish I had more time to get to know it, you know?"

"Well, you could ask if Adrienne will let you take it with us?" Niko asked.

"Oh, I couldn't do that! That doesn't seem right." Charlotte said. "Plus, I hardly know the Deerling."

"Well, I hardly knew any of my Pokémon before catching them. But they wanted to travel with me, or get stronger. It's the same thing, really." He said with a shrug.

Charlotte looked down at Deerling, who briefly caught her eye. "I've never really caught a Pokémon before. Smeargle was more of a gift than anything. And I had known her before I caught her."

"Well, it's up to you. But I get the feeling Deerling would want to come along." Niko said with a kind smile towards the Season Pokémon, who shied away from him.

"I'd be fine with it." Charlotte heard Adrienne say behind her. "This Deerling in particular has always had a penchant for the outside world. The Deerling and Sawsbuck that live here were born and raised here. They don't know the world around them. It might do Deerling some good to see other places and environments. And plus, maybe it'll help our research to have someone take care of our Pokémon, to see if maybe its form changes under other conditions besides seasons."

"Well, if you insist…" Charlotte turned to Deerling. "Do you want to join my friends and I on our adventure, Deerling?"

The Seasons Pokémon nodded curtly, this time with a smile.

"Plus, it seems comfortable around you. I rarely see that Deerling comfortable around anyone other than me and its Sawsbuck parents." Adrienne said, pulling out a pokéball from her coat pocket. "This is Deerling's pokéball. Here. Its ownership has transferred on to you."

Charlotte took the pokéball and held it in her hand. It was cold to the touch, likely because of the cold environment everywhere except the greenhouse. She then showed it to Deerling, who touched it with its nose and went inside. "I…caught a Deerling." She said, this time with a smile.

"Great job, Charlotte." Niko said, standing up and patting his friend on the back. Warren did the same, and the three were then escorted by Adrienne out of the lab and back onto route 6.

"Well then, this is where we part, Deerling." Adrienne said, eyeing the pokéball in Charlotte's hand. "Please take good care."

"I will. I promise. And if we notice anything that might help your research, we'll let you know."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Adrienne said. "Best of luck on your adventure."

"Thanks for letting us check out the lab!" Warren said, waving back to Adrienne as they exited the front yard of the laboratory and back onto the snow-covered road on route 6, ready to continue their adventure with a new friend.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Episodes for the next few days will be slow, due to writer's block and me being out of town. I'll try to add to this story when I can, but it'll be slower than usual.**


	24. Collective action

**Episode 24: Collective action**

Mistralton City was still days away, but Niko found himself unable to find time to train. In the time between when him and his friends departed Driftveil City and when they briefly toured the Seasonal Research Lab, he had hardly found time to train. When he did, they were disrupted by Rufflet chasing off the Deerling that would eventually wind up travelling with them. After Charlotte caught the Deerling, they continued towards Chargestone Cave, which was just south of Mistralton City.

It was still snowing on route 6 during this time, but Niko decided that he finally needed to continue training with his Pokémon. If they wanted to continue having successful gym battles, and ultimately go far in the Unova League that coming Spring, then they needed to work on improving their moves.

Niko wasn't entirely concerned with his Servine, whom he didn't want to train with in the snow out of fear that she might prove to be less effective than usual. Instead, he trained with his other three Pokémon—Rufflet, Boldore, and Solosis—occasionally with the help of Charlotte or Warren, who also took the opportunity to train.

Rufflet, as always, refused to stop improving aerial ace. Boldore was dead-set on decreasing the release time on his smack down, which had helped him bring Clay's Sandslash to a draw in their gym battle. Solosis, for her part, generally preferred to attempt pranks on the other Pokémon—preferably Rufflet, whose anger-management issues were made quite clear by the Cell Pokémon's antics.

"Oh, come on Solosis…" Niko said when the psychic type took control of Rufflet's body and forced him into a tree. "Please don't do that…" He shook his head. "We're a team here, we have to act like it. What happens if we end up in a double battle and I have to use you two? Will you get along then?"

Solosis nodded, making gargling sounds that likely meant that she was agreeing with Niko. Her trainer nodded appreciatively.

"Now, let's get back to work. Solosis, use psywave on Rufflet! Rufflet, you need to find a way to dodge the move and then follow up with aerial ace, alright? Also…don't let your anger get to you, please?"

Solosis unleashed an expanding wave of psychic energy at her opponent-teammate. It unfortunately hit Rufflet, who was unaware of how fast Solosis could use this move. Niko called for them to try again, and this time Rufflet rose above the move before gliding downwards, just above the psywave and hitting Solosis clean in the side with his left wing, eventually crashing into the ground.

"Good job, Rufflet. But we can't be crashing. You're going to have to learn to control aerial ace. It isn't just about hitting—it's about not hurting yourself in the process. That's saved for a move called brave bird." Niko said, recalling a move he once helped teach another flying type of his.

Rufflet nodded, standing back up on his talons. Before he could say or do anything, he felt Solosis' psychic aura grip him, forcing him into the air and spinning him around.

"SOLOSIS!" Niko shouted. "Stop that!" He said, much to the dismay of the Cell Pokémon. She let go of Rufflet—who ungraciously fell to the ground—and floated low to the ground, eventually resting near a tree trunk, watching Warren write in his booklet, and Poliwag play some made-up game with Swadloon.

"Looks like the training is going well." Charlotte said with a teasing tone. Niko shrugged in response.

"I guess so. We just need more team cohesion. And all of my Pokémon are relatively young, by the looks of it."

"Is that how it's normally been for you?" She said in a lower tone, referencing Niko's previous journeys.

"Kind of, but not really. I had a mix of Pokémon of different ages and skill levels. Some brave and some constantly nervous or shy. This time it's different—they all seem less experienced, with the possible exception of Boldore, who was probably a tough fighter before I caught him." Niko said observantly. "But they're doing really well—better than I could have imagined."

"It's because you're more experienced than you might believe." Charlotte said. "They all look up to you. It's easy to tell."

"You think so?" Niko asked plainly. He wasn't sure what to make of that; he just accepted it, regardless of how true it might have been.

"I do. I think you'll do well if you just keep doing what you're doing." She patted him on the back. "Now, we should probably get going. We might make it to Chargestone Cave by nightfall.

* * *

As it turned out, they did. The day after their trip to the Seasonal Research Lab, the trio of travelers reached the front entrance of Chargestone Cave. It looked like any ordinary cave sitting at the edge of a large valley in the middle of a mountain range, but according to Charlotte's book, it was anything but, and it was the quickest way to Mistralton City.

Approaching the entrance—which was quite massive for a cave entrance, Niko noticed—they noticed a collection of spider webs strung about. Massive, silky string was tied together in elaborate patterns. Niko shuddered at the sight.

"What's wrong, Niko?" Warren asked upon noticing his friend acting differently.

"I—erm—don't like bugs. Or spiders, for that matter." Niko said, inching away from the web that, for whatever reason, was also emitting small electric sparks from the silky material.

"I get that. Unfortunately, Joltik and Galvantula—both arachnids—are native to Chargestone Cave." Charlotte added with a concerned look. "Will you be alright in there?"

"I'll try to be." Niko said, and they slowly made their way into the cave.

Chargestone Cave was like the name implied—it was an electrically-charged cavern that bore deep into the western half of the Unova region. It is home to several Unova-native Pokémon as well as Pokémon from all over the world. As the trainers entered the cave, they took a tunnel deep into the ground, watching as electric sparks flashed above their head at random intervals.

"This is pretty cool, actually." Niko said observantly. The electricity, oddly enough, reminded him of his old electric type Pokémon—Magneton, Manectric, and Luxray.

"I've heard that this is the place where you can go to evolve your Nosepass or Magneton." Warren said, looking around him at the walls lined with electricity. When Niko immediately shot him a look, clearly for elaborative purposes, Warren smiled. "Something about the magnetism in this cave makes it possible to evolve Magneton and Nosepass. You know they can only evolve in an environment that is overly electrically charged?"

"I heard of it, but never really been to one of them. Plus, it's not like I own either of those Pokémon, so how would I know that in the first place?"

"I don't either, just found it interesting." Warren admitted.

They continued walking through the tunnel until they reached a far larger chamber, this time with bridges connecting various electrified rock formations, all hanging above a seemingly bottomless chasm. Niko peered over the edge, which was unusual for him due to his fear of heights as well. But he did, and confirmed for himself and his friends that it indeed appeared to be bottomless.

"Great, so this place is just full of hazards." He said gruffly as he turned back to Charlotte and Warren.

"Well, what do you expect in a cave?" Charlotte asked. "We signed up for stuff like this."

"Fair enough. I'd just prefer not dying." Niko replied.

"Well, neither do we." Charlotte retorted, and the conversation ended there. Looking around, they found a bridge nearby that would take them to one of the rock formations. But as they did, Niko noticed something hovering above him.

"What's that?" He asked, looking directly upwards. It was a school of white eels, none of which were more than a foot long in length. They each had dark, oval eyes and a red, four-point star-shaped mouth. Lastly, they all had a wavy, yellow stripe that ran along their body, which had a single membrane that gave it a tapered shape. Niko pulled out his pokédex to properly observe the tiny Pokémon:

" _Tynamo, the EleFish Pokémon. Electric type. One alone can emit only a trickle of electricity, so a group of them gathers to unleash a powerful electric attack_."

"EleFish Pokémon…where have I heard that before?" Niko asked, trying to recall a moment similar to this.

"On the Battle Subway you and I fought an Eelektross. That's the final form for Tynamo." Charlotte said matter-of-factly. You said you liked that Pokémon."

"Yes! I did." Niko said. "I think I'll try to catch one of them!"

"Go for it. They're pretty rare. But…" Warren stopped, mid-sentence. "That pokédex entry mentioned that they gather in schools to produce a powerful attack. Why would they feel the need to do that?"

"If they're threatened." Niko said. "Is there something threatening this place?"

"Possibly. Want to check it out?" Warren suggested.

"Sure. Charlotte?" Niko asked, turning to his brunette friend for confirmation.

"Coming from the guy who worried that this place was too dangerous, sure." She said with a wry smile, which elicited a quick laugh from Niko before the three turned in the direction the Tynamo were moving—across the bridge they were on.

While they were moving, Niko would occasionally look up at the school of Tynamo hovering above them. He noticed one in particular was shorter than the others—possibly an inch or two shorter—and was missing part of its yellow membrane. Even though he found these details irrelevant, he continued on without question.

The trio finally arrived at the other end of the chamber they had initially found the Tynamo in, and clearly found what they were looking for. On another platform in the chamber, down below, they noticed people that looked like they were Team Plasma grunts. There were only a few of them, but they were operating some sort of machine for whatever reason. Niko looked up to see the Tynamo lowering their collective head towards the Plasma grunts before diving down towards them.

"What the…!" Niko said as he watched all of the Tynamo but the one with the shorter membrane dive towards Team Plasma. This specific Tynamo stopped abruptly in midair, looking depressed for whatever reason. "Hey, you alright?" Niko asked, specifically addressing the Tynamo. The EleFish Pokémon turned to him, trying to put on a tough expression. "Can't keep up with them?" Niko continued to ask. Apparently, however, the Tynamo misunderstood this, and then began glowing bright yellow before launching a series of small sparks at Niko, who quickly sidestepped the move before the sparks dissipated pathetically. "What was that for?"

"We can figure that out later, Niko." Warren said. "For now, we should focus on Team Plasma. Maybe they're up to something?"

"Also they just defeated all of those Tynamo." Charlotte said, pointing down towards the platform below. Niko and Warren looked over the edge to see Tynamo floating individually around the space, all looking exhausted. Team Plasma, by contrast, were standing there looking perfectly fine.

"What're you up to?" Niko shouted, not quite angry yet. More curious. As with the Relic Castle, Niko preferred to not involve himself with evil gangs again. But he did want to know what they were up to, in the event he got a chance to tell the authorities.

"Why would we tell you, kid?" One of them—a male—snapped back.

"Curious. You must be powerful to defeat so many Tynamo like that." Niko asked, hoping that these grunts weren't very smart.

"Tynamo aren't strong." The same male grunt replied. "They're useless Pokémon that somehow get by with no apparent weaknesses. An electric type that isn't affected by ground types, pfft."

"Wait…huh?" Niko asked, looking up at the single Tynamo that didn't attack with the rest of the school.

"Tynamo has the levitate ability." Charlotte explained. "Since it's only electric type, it has no weaknesses."

"Wow, that's really impressive." Niko said, speaking directly to the Tynamo. "You should feel lucky, you know?" Tynamo simply nodded, trying to not express any other emotion towards this strange human. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question." He asked, turning back to Team Plasma.

"If you must know…" A female grunt began. "Chargestone Cave has rocks for its energy source. These, here…" She opened her arms to reference the large, light blue rocks that were randomly spitting electric sparks out. "It's a huge amount of energy, and we're planning to harness this energy for the purposes of Team Plasma!"

"Okay, got it." Niko said.

"Why do you ask?" One of them wondered. Suddenly, Rufflet swooped down and knocked the grunt over before swooping back into the air. The female grunt and the first male grunt to talk to Niko were then brought into the air by Solosis' psychic energy. Rufflet dove down once more, this time with white tendrils streaming from his beak. However, this time he was met with what looked like a sludge bomb from a massive trash-like Pokémon.

"What's that?" Niko asked worriedly.

" _Garbodor, the Trash Heap Pokémon. Poison type. Consuming garbage makes new kinds of poison gases and liquids inside their bodies_."

"Rufflet!" Niko shouted as the Eaglet Pokémon was falling. Suddenly, Solosis released the grunts and used her energy to bring Rufflet back from falling into the bottomless pit. "Great teamwork, Solosis! Now use psywave on Garbodor!"

"Not so fast! Liepard, I choose you!" The female grunt shouted, tossing a pokéball into the air on the lower platform, sending out a large, purple and yellow furred feline Pokémon. "Block the psywave!"

Liepard—clearly a dark type, as the psywave didn't seem to affect it—repelled the psywave. Solosis then dove down towards Liepard, who leapt into the air to slash at the Cell Pokémon with its claws, knocking it into the cliff of the higher platform that Niko and his friends were on. Garbodor, meanwhile, barraged Solosis with sludge bomb.

"Rufflet, can you keep going?" Niko asked. He realized that between him, Charlotte, and Warren, he was the only one that had Pokémon that could cross between the two platforms, each of varying heights. The Eaglet Pokémon nodded, rising back into the air and diving down towards Liepard. "Aerial ace!"

Rufflet nodded, descending quickly towards the purple feline, tackling it to the ground just as Garbodor launched a sludge bomb from its tube-shaped hands, covering Rufflet. Solosis once more attempted to use psywave, this time hitting Garbodor, but got hit in the side by Liepard's slash once more. Niko bit his finger nervously. He had no idea what to do next.

"Niko…" Charlotte said worriedly. "We can help!"

"How? Smeargle and Deerling can reach that far. Rufflet!" Niko shouted as he watched his flying type take a beating from the Liepard.

"This is what happens when kids mess with Team Plasma." The female grunt said, smirking towards Niko. As she said that, though, she saw a flash of light knock the Liepard to the ground. Then another flash of light and Garbodor was also knocked over.

Looking up, Niko noticed the Tynamo with the shortened membrane looking exhausted, floating just below the platform they were standing on. It wasn't alone, though—there were nearly a dozen or so Tynamo also floating around that also looked tired from the flash of light, which Niko recognized as charge beam. He watched in awe at the collection of Tynamo used a combined charge beam a third time, which seemed to keep Liepard and Garbodor down long enough for Niko to act.

"Rufflet, aerial ace on Liepard! Solosis, psywave on Garbodor!" He shouted. Both Pokémon dove down to their respective Pokémon and were able to quickly put down Team Plasma. "So…?" He addressed the grunts.

"You win…" The male grunt said lazily. "For now, at least. You can't stop Team Plasma. No one can!" He thrust his fist in the air and walked away with his two companions, who had returned their Pokémon. When they disappeared from sight on their lowered platform, Niko and his friends all turned to look at one another. Meanwhile, Rufflet and Solosis both floated close to their trainer, the former perched on Niko's shoulder.

"Well, that was something." Niko looked up to the Tynamo, who were now hovering over them. "Thanks for the help, guys. Without it, Rufflet and Solosis would have been goners."

The Tynamo nodded briefly. However, the one with the short membrane descended towards Niko and stared at him with its eye. During the brief moment that their eyes locked, Niko smirked and pulled out a pokéball.

"You want to join us?" He asked. "You'll get stronger, I promise. I'm battling strong trainers around the area to be the best that I can be. Of course, I also have the help of these two and others." He said, addressing Solosis and Rufflet.

The Tynamo looked down at the pokéball, and then at Niko, Rufflet, Solosis, and finally Charlotte and Warren. It then looked behind it at its school of Tynamo, all of whom nodded joyfully. Tynamo then tapped its head on the button on the pokéball and immediately went inside, ultimately falling out of Niko's hand and onto the raised platform in Chargestone Cave. The ball wiggled a few times before ultimately clicking, which indicated that Tynamo was captured.

Niko picked up the pokéball and stared at it for a moment before turning to Charlotte and Warren. "Well, you did say you wanted a Tynamo." Charlotte said with a friendly shrug. "And it seemed really interested in travelling with you."

"Mhmm. It seems like all of my Pokémon want to keep improving and getting stronger. That's what I want." He finally said after a few moments. "Rufflet, Solosis, looks like we have a new friend on our team." His two Pokémon seemed oddly eager to have a companion like Tynamo on their side. "Now, let's get the hell out of this place." Niko said, eagerly walking in a random direction with Rufflet and Solosis on his side, and Tynamo in its new pokéball. They were getting closer to their next destination, and his next gym badge.


	25. Tynamo's hidden energy!

**Episode 25: Tynamo's hidden energy!**

By the time Niko and his friends exited Chargestone Cave—with Niko's newly caught Tynamo—Mistralton City was a few hours' trek up a long, winding hill. During this time Niko introduced Tynamo to the rest of his team. After their conflict with Team Plasma, Rufflet and Solosis immediately gained respect for the small, eel-like Pokémon. Servine and Boldore seemed cordial enough, but clearly had never seen anything like him before.

Tynamo generally came off as a shy Pokémon. Niko began to gather that the EleFish Pokémon might have self-esteem issues either due to his size or his shorter yellow membrane—or both. Taking note of this, Niko encouraged his team to treat Tynamo with the utmost respect. He had no problem believing this to be true, but it needed to be mentioned anyways.

Charlotte and Warren were fascinated by the little Pokémon. Charlotte didn't find him cute—and was more creeped out by him at first—but seemed to quickly get used to having Tynamo around. She also kept noting the value of Tynamo's ability—levitate—which Niko wanted to take full advantage of. Warren took careful notes of the Tynamo, even having the shy EleFish Pokémon pose for him so he could create a quick sketch of the electric type. Generally, during their short time from the cave to Mistralton City, he seemed to enjoy having the little thing around.

Mistralton City is geographically positioned between three mountain ranges. The city is famous for its airport which imports and exports cargo all around Unova—and the world. As it was winter when the trio arrived, a blanket of snow was covering the entire city, even the massive landing strips in the airport.

Niko had seen airports before, but nothing quite like Mistralton City's airport. In fact, it was the first thing that the trio saw when they reached the top of the hill overlooking the city. It was sunset, and the orange-dyed star crept behind the mountains to the west, baking Mistralton City—and the sky—in an orange-pink glow.

"Wow…wonder what the main industry is here…" Niko said sarcastically. Tynamo—who had been floating alongside his new trainer—looked at the city in awe. "Tynamo, we've got a gym badge to win down there. Do you feel ready?"

Tynamo turned to his trainer and, hesitantly, nodded.

* * *

The following afternoon, Niko was on the practice battlefield gauging Tynamo's strength. He had spent some of the morning showing his new Pokémon his training methods—which usually including something related to evasion, which Tynamo had little issue with—before finally working on moves. Meanwhile Boldore, Rufflet, Servine, and Solosis worked on their own moves.

"So, Niko…" Charlotte said, looking up from her pokédex. "There's something you might want to know about Tynamo."

"What's up?" Niko asked, turning to his brunette friend, who was bundled in several layers to protect her petite body from the cold weather.

"I learned that Tynamo can only learn four moves—tackle, charge beam, spark, and thunder wave."

"That shouldn't be an issue. That's all we really need, right Tynamo?" He asked. The EleFish Pokémon nodded, albeit seemingly unsure of himself. "Well, let's just focus on the release of those moves. If you're fast enough, you won't necessarily have to worry about how strong your moves are. Endurance can carry the day in a battle." He explained to Tynamo, who was listening intently. He turned to his new teammates, who all looked over and nodded to confirm what Niko was saying. "Right, so let's just start with using each of the moves, and then we can work on some more specific issues that you might have, alright?"

The two worked for nearly half an hour on Tynamo's moveset before finally settling down for a meal.

"So Niko, you ready?" Warren, who had been quiet for much of their time in Mistralton City thus far, asked.

"I think so. It was a relatively good day to train, but I think they were a little off put by the cold weather. Servine was certainly slower than she usually is." Niko said observantly, watching his five Pokémon eating.

"You've certainly caught a lot of Pokémon now." Warren added. "You've almost got a full team!"

"Heh, yeah. Thanks to you two. You've both helped me find these Pokémon and eventually catch them." Niko said appreciatively.

"It wasn't really us, though." Charlotte said, this time with a slight smirk. "You've made those connections. We just encouraged you."

"And, at the time, you really needed it." Warren said with a wink. Niko then remembered that only Charlotte knew about his past. "But it's good that you're catching different kinds of Pokémon, right? It varies your team."

"Absolutely. That's kind of the plan." Niko replied. "Or, well, not purposefully. But it's the plan now."

They continued to make small talk until they all decided to head off to the gym, where Niko would compete for his sixth gym badge. The Mistralton City Gym was in an old military hanger down the street from the airport. At once, Niko realized that the gym would be flying type, but he waited for Warren to say something first.

"You shouldn't have any issues with the flying type, Niko." Warren said. "Tynamo, Boldore…even Rufflet and Solosis will be at an advantage."

"That's true. I don't think I'll use Servine. She hasn't had the best of luck with training recently. And I have a feeling that she may have caught a cold while we were on the road, so I want her to take it easy this time." Niko said as they entered the hanger, which revealed only a massive battlefield. There didn't seem to be many auxiliary rooms like the other gyms Niko entered.

Suddenly, they heard an ear-shattering sound. Niko turned to see a cannon resting behind them, and a human being flying overhead through the gym before hovering to the ground with the help of some air vents. Niko squinted to get a better look at the human. She was average height with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes like his. She wore a somewhat skimpy aviator's outfit that was a mix of blue and sky blue. Lastly, she wore a floral pin on the right side of her head. She grinned widely as she approached Niko. Soon enough, he realized that this gym leader was somewhat attractive, too.

"Hi! My name's Skyla! Are you here to challenge the Mistralton Gym?" She asked in a high-pitched tone.

"Y-yes…I'm Niko, by the way. Niko from Pallet Town." Niko said, looking behind him at the cannon. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Nope! I sit up there, either reading or playing a game or something until a challenger comes by. Then I just hop into the cannon, blast off, and conveniently land on gusts of air that help lower me to the ground. So, you're here for a battle then?" Niko nodded. "Excellent! Let's get going, then! Four on four sound fine?"

"Yeah, I'm okay with that." Niko said. _Perfect, too. I have enough Pokémon to handle flying types_ , He thought to himself. Skyla then turned on her feet and walked back to where she landed and turned again to face Niko, who hurriedly scrambled back to the opposite end of the dirt field. He waited for Skyla to pull out a pokéball before he did the same.

"Swoobat! Let's go!" Skyla shouted, throwing a pokéball high into the air. Out of it appeared a blue, bat-like Pokémon. The two ears on the top of its head were fused together with striated, lighter colored insides and a pink, heart-shaped snout with a single nostril. Two wide, rounded teeth were visible in its lower jaw. A mane of shaggy, light blue fur surrounds its neck. Its black wings had a claw at the joint.

" _Swoobat, the Courting Pokémon. Psychic and flying type. It shakes its tail vigorously when it emits ultrasonic waves strong enough to reduce concrete to rubble_." Charlotte's pokédex said.

"Tynamo, let's go!" Niko commanded, summoning his as-of-yet untested electric type. "Use thunder wave!"

"Swoobat, use attract!" Skyla smirked. In a strange way, Swoobat shot pink hearts from its nose at Tynamo who barely dodged the move before conjuring a wave of static electricity that ran across the field, hitting Swoobat and knocking it to the ground, unable to move. "Wow! And from a Tynamo…well done!"

Niko then noticed Tynamo collapse to the ground as well. Fortunately, the EleFish Pokémon wasn't unable to battle—just exhausted. Realizing this, Niko returned Tynamo. "Come back buddy. Get some of your energy back; I'll send you out later. Boldore, I choose you!"

Skyla smirked. "An electric type, and now a rock type? Fair enough. Swoobat, use attract!"

"Boldore, rock blast!" Niko commanded. Just as Swoobat slowly emitted pink hearts from its nose, Boldore conjured a series of rocks to beat back the hearts and successfully hit Swoobat, knocking it backwards. "Now, smack down!"

Swoobat was finally able to move and shot high into the air just as Boldore's golden orb launched and smacked into the Courting Pokémon, knocking it back to the ground.

"Assurance!" Skyla commanded, just as Swoobat was close to the ground. The Courting Pokémon, just inches from the ground, spread its wings wide open and glided across the battlefield floor to smack Boldore. "Heart stamp!"

Swoobat moved backwards before conjuring a massive pink heart, shooting it at Boldore and causing the Ore Pokémon to briefly flinch. Swoobat then dove back down to use another assurance attack, this time _moving_ Boldore backwards. However, it hardly seemed to affect Boldore (that, or he didn't show any signs of weakness), for he arched his head upwards and used a close-range smack down on Swoobat, which slammed it hard into the ground.

"Boldore, finish it off with rock blast!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. The Ore Pokémon obliged, pelting Swoobat with rocks of varying sizes, which seemed to finish it off.

"Swoobat is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner!" The referee, who had shown up just as the battle was beginning, declared. "Leader Skyla will send out her second Pokémon!"

"Skarmory, I choose you!" Skyla shouted, throwing out a second pokéball. "Use steel wing!"

"Boldore, smack down!" Niko commanded. Boldore conjured a golden orb and launched it at skarmory, who was in the midst of descending towards him, wings glowing a light gray. Smack down hit first, slamming Skarmory to the ground. However, the Armor Bird Pokémon quickly rose up from the ground and charged at Boldore on its feet.

"The tenacity of that Pokémon…" Warren said. "Niko's going to have trouble with this one…"

"He'll be fine, I think." Charlotte replied, this time with a smile. _He's probably dealt with Skarmorys before._

"Hold your own, Boldore! We can do this!" Niko shouted as Skarmory pressed its wings against its opponent, dragging him across the dirt battlefield.

"Skarmory, agility!" Skyla shouted, giving her Pokémon the boost it needed to drive steel wing into Boldore. Skarmory pushed the Ore Pokémon past the battlefield and into the wall behind Niko. He turned to see Skarmory turn and fly back towards its trainer, leaving Boldore in a heap of defeat against the wall.

"Boldore is unable to battle, Skarmory is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will send out his next Pokémon!"

"Boldore, return. You did well buddy, I'm very proud of you." He said with a smile. "Now, Solosis I choose you!"

"Why Solosis?" Warren said confusedly. "Tynamo would be better, right?"

"Well, Tynamo is still very weak. He doesn't have enough experience yet to defeat a Pokémon like Skarmory." Charlotte explained. _I'm sure Niko knows what he's doing_.

"Solosis, use rollout!" Niko commanded. He smirked as the Cell Pokémon charged towards her opponent, spinning through the air. Just then, Skarmory's wings began to glow a mix of red and white and it charged at Solosis, crashing into her and sending her into the ground. "Can you get up, Solosis?"

The Cell Pokémon nodded, floating back into the air, albeit bobbing from side to side. Frowning, Niko commanded her to use psywave once more, in order to get an attack in without dealing with Skarmory at a close range. That's what defeated Boldore.

"Skarmory, x-scissor!" Skyla commanded. Once more, Skarmory's wings began to glow red and white as it dove down towards Solosis. However, the psywave emitting from the Cell Pokémon slowed it down enough to give Solosis time to evade the attack, forcing Skarmory to crash into the ground. "Agility, and x-scissor again!"

"Solosis, psywave!" Niko shouted. Solosis spun back around and used psywave once more to slow Skarmory down just as it was about to quickly land another x-scissor. He then heard someone talking to him from the stands. Turning to his left, he saw Charlotte waving to him. "Huh?"

"Solosis knows hidden power!" Charlotte shouted. "Hidden power!"

"Really now…" Niko said, turning to his psychic type, who was busy trying to evade Skarmory's onslaught of x-scissors. He had never used hidden power before—he hardly knew how it worked as a move. Hidden power is an attack of an unknown type, and could be _anything_. But, Solosis was struggling, and it was worth the risk in Niko's mind. "Solosis, use hidden power!"

Solosis nodded, dodging once final x-scissor before rising high into the air, emitting a bright white aura around herself. Suddenly, white orbs began to form around Solosis. Each one then rapidly changed colors to create the illusion of a rainbow before settling on an orange color. Solosis then shot them down at Skarmory, who cried out as small bursts of fire slammed against its metallic body.

Niko couldn't believe it. Solosis' hidden power was fire! "Solosis, use hidden power again!" He shouted, knowing that they were now on at least even footing. Skyla felt the same, or at least showed it, when she commanded Skarmory to use x-scissor. Both Pokémon clashed, with Solosis taking the x-scissor, and Skarmory taking the fire-type hidden power. Both Pokémon were repelled and crashed into the ground below. Niko waited to see if Solosis would get back up.

"Solosis and Skarmory are both unable to battle! Leader Skyla and Challenger Niko will now send out their next Pokémon!"

"Sigilyph, I choose you!" Skyla shouted, summoning a familiar-looking Avianoid Pokémon.

"Rufflet, let's go!" Niko shouted, sending out his excitable Eaglet Pokémon. "Use hone claws!"

"Sigilyph, psychic!" Skyla shouted. The three eyes on the oddly-shaped Avianoid Pokémon began to glow bright purple and Rufflet suddenly found himself losing control of his body. Sigilyph thrust the little Pokémon from side to side. "Air cutter!" Skyla shouted when her Pokémon then slashed its wings through the air, hitting Rufflet on the ground and ripping the battlefield under him. "Psychic again!"

"Rufflet, fight back!" Niko commanded. "You're stronger than this!" The Eaglet Pokémon slowly got back up, sharpening his talons. "Now, aerial ace!"

Rufflet shot into the air towards Sigilyph, who used psychic to throw him to the right, into some empty stands. Once more, Rufflet got up slowly, eying his opponent carefully before shooting forward and landing the aerial ace. Just then, Niko noticed that Sigilyph had a limited field of vision. Thinking through this more, the more obvious it seemed, but with a Pokémon with psychic abilities it seemed less so.

"Rufflet, into the air!" Niko shouted.

"Sigilyph, air cutter!" Skyla commanded. As Rufflet ascended through the hangar, the Avianoid Pokémon shot a ripple of air through the space between, missing Rufflet. The Eaglet Pokémon then immediately dove back down, dodging another air cutter before landing close to Sigilyph. Rufflet then quickly sped to the side and around his opponent. Being faster than Sigilyph, Rufflet had no problem hiding himself.

"Aerial ace!" Niko commanded. Rufflet crashed into Sigilyph's back, launching the Avianoid Pokémon forward. "Fury attack!" Rufflet then slashed at his opponent with his talons, knocking it to the ground. "Finish Sigilyph off with aerial ace once more!"

White tendrils emitted from Rufflet as he dove down at Sigilyph, crashing into the ground. Rufflet rolled across the ground, in front of Sigilyph and towards Niko, before getting back to his feet, exhausted.

"Sigilyph is unable to battle, Rufflet is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Skyla will now send out her final Pokémon!"

"Niko's in trouble…" Warren said cautiously. "Rufflet looks tired and Tynamo is all he has left."

"Yeah, you're right." Charlotte said, suddenly losing a little bit of hope. "I think he can pull it off, though. He usually does, right?"

"True. He's been in tighter situations."

"I'm sure he has." She replied.

"Swanna, I choose you!" Skyla shouted, summoning her fourth and final Pokémon. As its name implied, it was a swan-like Pokémon with primarily white plumage. Its beak was long and yellow topped with a black cere, and it had several white feathery features adorning its head. It possessed a long, curving neck. Two light-blue feathery features, similar to those on the sides of its head, were present on Swanna's underside. Lastly, it had small, dark, webbed feet.

" _Swanna, the White Bird Pokémon. Water and flying type. Despite their elegant appearance, they can flap their wings strongly and fly for thousands of miles_."

"Rufflet, you can keep going, right?" Niko asked. The Eaglet Pokémon nodded, getting back up. "Great, aerial ace!"

"Swanna, surf!" Skyla commanded. The White Bird Pokémon rose high into the air and conjured a wave of water that aimed to hit Rufflet, who charged through the water and slammed into Swanna with aerial ace, knocking it backwards through the air. "Air slash!"

"Fury attack!" Niko called out. Rufflet pelted Swanna with his talons, one after another, until Swanna slapped him with the side of her massive wing, knocking Rufflet into the ground. "Aerial ace again!"

"Swanna, surf!" Skyla commanded. The White Bird Pokémon created another wave of water by spreading its wings out wide. Rufflet rose back into the air, speeding through the surf before it could crash down on him, and slammed into Swanna in a repeat of their first collision. "Roost."

Swanna began to glow in a way that looked similar to synthesis, as Niko noticed. Biting his finger, he commanded another aerial ace, as it was his only way to truly do damage to Swanna. _This one is tough, but I can really only rely on Rufflet…Tynamo might not be able to handle this…unless._ "Rufflet, keep it up! Use aerial ace once more!"

Rufflet nodded, this time evading an air slash to crash into Swanna, knocking both of them to the ground. Niko then withdrew Rufflet's pokéball and returned him.

"Rufflet, return. You've done great buddy. Tynamo, let's go!" He shouted, summoning the small EleFish Pokémon. "I'm relying on you now buddy."

"What's Niko doing…?" Charlotte asked, trying to understand her friend's strategy.

"Hmm…interesting choice." Skyla said with a playful smirk. "I'm interested now. Swanna, use surf!"

"Tynamo, charge beam!" Niko commanded, sounding almost curious rather than strategic. The EleFish Pokémon's shortened yellow membrane began to pulsate as the little thing conjured a yellow beam of concentrate electricity. It successfully hit the wave and, upon reacting with the water, created a massive explosion. Tynamo turned to Niko, who nodded. The EleFish Pokémon then dashed into the dust cloud resulting from the explosion, with Swanna waiting patiently on the other side.

Skyla and Swanna looked around as the dust cloud dissipated. Tynamo was gone.

"Tynamo, spark!" Niko commanded. Suddenly, Tynamo appeared from behind his opponent and unleashed an electric charge, hitting Swanna in the back. It soon became clear that Tynamo was reaching his limit, but Niko was still confident. "You can keep going, buddy! Give it everything you've got! Tynamo, use thunder wave!"

With the last bit of energy he had, Tynamo conjured a short wave of electricity that paralyzed Swanna, causing it to drop to the ground.

"Now, use tackle!" Niko called out. Once Swanna crashed into the ground, Tynamo quickly descended to the ground, colliding with Swanna. Like Rufflet with Sigilyph earlier, Tynamo found himself rolling across the ground as well. Swanna, still paralyzed, also had difficulty getting back up.

"There's no way Tynamo defeated Swanna…" Warren said in shock. "Isn't Swanna supposed to be Skyla's strongest Pokémon?"

To this, Charlotte nodded. "True, but I feel like anything is possible with Niko."

"Indeed…" Warren replied, waiting for the referee to make a declaration.

"Err…it looks like both Tynamo and Swanna are unable to battle. Because Niko still has one Pokémon left, he is the victor!" The referee said as soon as he was sure Tynamo and Swanna were defeated.

Niko let out a heavy sigh of relief, walking over to Tynamo and picking him up. He now knew the limits of his new Pokémon. As a small, below average Tynamo, he had a limited amount of electricity that he could use. And, being pushed to and past his limit, Tynamo fainted from exhaustion.

"I'm very proud of you." Niko said, holding Tynamo. "You really proved your stuff today. Let's keep working to make you stronger, alright?"

Tynamo weakly nodded before closing his eyes and leaving consciousness. Niko then returned Tynamo and turned to Warren and Charlotte, who were both standing by him with smiles on their faces. They congratulated Niko when Skyla pulled out a badge from her small pocket. It was in the shape of a light blue feather, with a soaring bird on the bottom of it. Niko took the badge and carefully looked at it before smiling himself.

"Niko, here is the Jet Badge, as proof that you've defeated me. It was a great battle! I hope to have a rematch with you one day. That, err, Tynamo of yours was tough. I didn't expect such a little thing to have so much energy."

"Honestly, neither did I. I don't think Tynamo even realized he had that much energy. He's smaller than most, so I think everyone was surprised today." Niko explained. "And I agree—a rematch is in store for us!" He had never accepted a rematch with a Gym Leader that he had defeated. But he enjoyed his battle with Skyla, and he felt like his Pokémon could do better against her in the future.

"Well, I would chat longer, but I've got a flight to catch. My grandfather—Miles, a former Gym Leader here—is going with me to Lentimas Town. We're meeting Professor Juniper there to help her with some assignment."

"Oh, well tell her we say hi!" Warren said eagerly. "And that Niko's Servine is doing really well!"

Skyla giggled. "Of course. I'll give her your best. Lata!" She said, dashing out of the hangar, and leaving Niko, Charlotte, and Warren alone.

"Well, want to get something to eat?" Niko asked, as he usually did when he got a new gym badge. "My Pokémon deserve something for this victory."


	26. Hunter and hunted

**Episode 26: Hunter and hunted**

"So!" Warren said as they all sat down at their booth in the Pokémon Center, just as they usually did. "Two badges to go! And then we're off to the Unova League!"

"Yep…" Niko said, proudly eying his Jet Badge. "When is the Unova League typically?"

"Mid-spring…so you've got quite a few months!" Warren said excitedly. "You're doing really well for a beginning trainer!"

Niko smiled nervously as he briefly eyed Charlotte, who looked away and smirked. She clearly got a little enjoyment from knowing something that Warren didn't. "Well, I think I'll need it if I'm going to win it all, right?"

"Of course!" Warren said. "You've only got five Pokémon right now. Maybe we should slow down a little and take some time for you to train."

"Well, depends. Where is the nearest gym? Because I don't think we should be sitting around in the dead of winter training. Servine probably can't handle being in the cold that long." He then turned to see Charlotte flipping through her book on the Unova region. He then motioned to her while shrugging towards Warren. "She's always on it!"

"You bet she is!" Warren said, slapping their friend on the back. The light force of the back slap was enough for shift Charlotte's entire body forward, knocking her stomach into the side of the table and her head to whiplash forward towards her book. "Oops…sorry."

"No…problem." She said, clearly grabbing her stomach. "Anyway…it looks like, from this book, the nearest gym is in Icirrus City."

"But Brycen isn't the gym leader anymore." Niko said, referencing his meeting with the Gym Leader-turned-actor in Virbank City. "Do they just have a new one?"

"Probably. We can go check it out." Charlotte said. "It's just northeast of here. But…oh man, looks like a long trek." When Niko and Warren studied her, she elaborated. "We have to take route 7 towards Twist Mountain, and then _go through_ Twist Mountain."

Warren's mouth dropped. And, as usual, Niko looked at both of them with a confused expression. "What's the big deal about Twist Mountain?"

"Twist Mountain is a mountain range where travelers usually get lost. There's been construction going on for years now, trying to make it easier for people to travel through to get to Icirrus, Mistralton, or Driftveil City. But as far as I've read, it hasn't been going fast enough."

"Makes sense though…it's a _big_ mountain range." Charlotte said. "But…if we have to do it, we will. Right?"

Niko nodded. "Whatever works. If we encounter any danger, we'll deal with it then." He said in an uncharacteristically optimistic way. He had been feeling far happier recently than he had during the previous half-year. It was probably the string of successful gym battles he had under his belt—or rather, in his badge case. It could also be his Pokémon, which he enjoyed the company of. Or his companions, who were constantly optimistic about his chances, regardless of how experienced he was.

After settling on Icirrus City for Niko's next gym battle, the group went to a store in Mistralton City to stock up on supplies. There, Niko got some carrots to create a sort of soup for Servine's cold. The Grass Snake Pokémon was still feeling under the weather and not up for battling or training. Niko figured that he might need Servine in his next gym battle and, if he was being honest, he enjoyed training with Servine. She also enjoyed training and fighting, and Niko could tell she missed it. Realizing that she had to sit out the gym battle with Skyla, she turned away from Niko and looked thoroughly pissed off.

Niko also got some Lum berries for Rufflet and some other things for his Pokémon while also grabbing supplies that he figured Warren and Charlotte might forget. Usually when they went to the supermarket for supplies, the three of them split up to save time and energy. And occasionally they would forget something. This time, with Niko thinking ahead, he grabbed everything he could think of, proudly walking towards the cashier just as Charlotte and later Warren stood there.

"Oh…" Niko said as he realized he wasn't the only one who planned ahead. Charlotte had bought more berries than she usually did, and Warren had gotten more vegetables. Niko had bought both. "Well, I guess we have more than we'll need, right?"

They both nodded, smiling at the accident.

On their first day back on the road, the trio headed north of Mistralton City, towards Twist Mountain, and along route 7. Even though it was winter, and snow was blanketing the entire valley beyond, the grass was tall enough to peek through the snow and show itself off to the world.

Despite Niko's initial hesitation to Warren's suggestion that they spend more time focusing on his training, he eventually obliged, training all of his Pokémon with the exception of Servine, who sat with Charlotte's Smeargle near a fire the latter created and ate a carrot soup that Niko and Warren put together. They watched from the sidelines in the valley as Niko's Solosis and Boldore practiced against one another, exchanging blows despite their natural effectiveness. Tynamo was off to the side simply generating electricity and trying to reach past his natural energy limit. Rufflet, meanwhile, was busy battling Warren's Poliwag, who hadn't gotten much time to battle on their journey thus far.

"Poliwag, keep it up! Use bubblebeam!" Warren shouted. Rufflet weaved in and out of the bubbles as they came to him, eventually using wing attack on the tadpole Pokémon and knocking him over and into the snow. Just then, the Eaglet Pokémon felt a kick to his side, knocking him into the fluffy white ice. Rufflet looked up and blinked as he saw Charlotte's Deerling standing there.

"Guess Deerling wants to participate, too." Charlotte said as she approached Warren and Niko from their campsite. "May we battle, too?"

"Sure." Niko said, turning to Rufflet. "Want to battle Charlotte's Deerling?"

Poliwag, looking somewhat distraught, turned away and waddled off towards the camp, where Servine, Smeargle, and now Swadloon were sitting. Poliwag sat down next to his leaf-covered teammate and huffed out loudly, watching as Deerling and Rufflet battled it out, with Charlotte and Niko watching their respective Pokémon intensely.

Just then, Warren sat down next to him. "You alright, buddy?" Warren asked. Poliwag looked up at his long-time partner and, hesitantly, nodded. "Don't worry about them. It's not a slight at you or anything. We're just giving Deerling a chance to practice, too!"

Poliwag nodded, accepting that his trainer was right. He didn't like it, though. Warren understood this and, standing up, looked back down at Swadloon and Poliwag.

"Say, you two want to go grab some firewood for the evening? I think we might just stay here for the night." He turned to Niko and Charlotte, who were too engrossed in their battle to notice him. Shrugging, he smiled and motioned for the two Pokémon to follow him.

Wading through the tall grass wasn't easy—Warren often had to ask Swadloon to use razor leaf to cut through it so that all three of them could see. It wasn't long before they found some sticks that they could use to keep their fire going. However, Warren soon discovered that the sticks were wet and wouldn't be as useful to feeding the flames. Throwing the sticks back onto the ground, he eagerly looked around for more, asking Poliwag and Swadloon to split up.

"If you find any, use either bubblebeam or razor leaf into the air, and I'll come and meet you back here, alright?" Warren asked. In that moment he desperately wished he had a flying type like Niko. Would have made everything much easier in his mind.

Regardless, the three then split up in different directions, all searching for wood. After nearly half an hour, Poliwag stumbled across some sticks lying around, but they too were wet. Swadloon also found some sticks, but they weren't long enough and hardly had any girth to them—essentially useless. At one point, she noticed a small Pidove watching her carefully, as if wanting to prey on her.

Warren found no sticks. As he walked through the tall grass—slowly, too—he discovered a small bear cub with an icicle in its nostril. The Pokémon was simply sitting there, looking almost lost. It was small, no bigger than two feet tall, and was light blue and white. Warren, curiously, pulled out his pokédex to examine the adorable little thing:

" _Cubchoo, the Chill Pokémon. Ice type. Their snot is a barometer of health. When healthy, their snot is sticky and the power of their ice moves increases_."

Warren crouched down to observe the snot. Oddly enough—even in the dead of winter—the snot wasn't completely solid. Concerned, he picked up the Cubchoo. "There there, let me take you back to my friends, and we can help you." He said.

As soon as he took a step to leave the area, he heard a rumbling in the tall grass behind him.

* * *

"Wait, where did Warren say he was going?" Niko asked when Rufflet and Deerling's practice battle was over. The Eaglet Pokémon perched himself on top of the Deerling as the latter was sitting down. Solosis and Boldore had also finished their joint training, and Tynamo was exhausted from his exercises.

"I think he said something about firewood. Right, Smeargle?" She asked, turning to the Painter Pokémon. She nodded, confirming her trainer's statement. "He shouldn't be gone too long, though. I'd be surprised if it took him even half an hour to find some sticks."

"True. But some of them could be wet and less useful. Who knows?" Niko said, placing himself down next to Servine on a blanket they laid out to protect from the wet snow. "Was the carrot soup good?" Servine nodded, looking happy for the first time in a while. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling a little better, then. I felt bad about not letting you battle. I promise, you'll get to battle in the next gym, regardless of what type it is, alright?"

Servine nodded, fist-bumping her trainer to solidify the agreement. Meanwhile, Charlotte was petting Deerling and watching Smeargle practice her paint strokes in midair. The Painter Pokémon usually did this whenever they took a rest stop, often just waving her tail around aimlessly. Charlotte sometimes wondered what her Pokémon was painting.

"Say, Charlotte." Niko finally said after minutes of silence. After catching her attention, he continued. "How do you think Warren will take my—err—past?"

"I think he'll take it just fine, Niko. Why do you ask?" Charlotte replied, sitting up straighter this time.

"I don't know. I just worry that it would shatter his view of me. I feel like, in some ways, he looks up to me. I don't get why, but he has this profound confidence in me. If I told him that I gave up, would that alter how he perceives me?"

"Maybe, but why would it matter?"

"Because I value his friendship and input."

"Then it shouldn't matter how he perceives you, Niko. If you truly value it, then you'd want to tell him, right? Plus, friends deserve to know these kinds of things. But at their own natural pace."

"I getcha. You're saying I should tell him whenever I feel is necessary?"

"Yeah." Charlotte said curtly, with a plain expression on her face. "Warren is an unusually understanding person. We're both lucky to have someone like him around."

"He's also unusually confident." Niko said. "I don't understand it."

"Neither do I, but like I said, we're lucky to have that." She said. "Even if we're not doing anything significant with our lives right now."

"You're referencing yourself, aren't you?" Niko asked. Charlotte may have mentioned what she wanted to do with her life, but if she did Niko had forgotten. She ultimately nodded. "Well, isn't this significant?"

"Maybe, it's certainly eye-opening in the sense that I get to see more of the world, and more of the people around me. We've met some interesting personalities on our short journey so far. And some equally interesting Pokémon." She leaned back on her hands and turned to Niko. "And I hope that continues, right?"

Niko smirked. "It will, for sure."

* * *

Swadloon looked up at the Pidove cautiously. She knew that the little bird wanted to take some sort of swipe at her, and so as she turned to leave she did so slowly, and only by side-stepping through the path of cut grass she had taken to arrive there. Just then, she heard a loud yelling that sounded eerily familiar. She looked up at the Pidove in the tree above her, and realized that the bird also noticed it. The two briefly exchanged looks before Swadloon made a dash for it (as fast as a Swadloon could run, that is) in the direction she had come from.

When she made it to the snow-covered clearing, she saw Poliwag looking around anxiously for their trainer. They then looked towards the direction Warren had run, and heard a low rumbling off in the distance. Swadloon crouched low to the ground to brace herself for whatever was coming towards them. Poliwag did the same.

Then they both noticed the Pidove fluttering off in that direction without a care in the world.

* * *

Warren slowly turned his head to see a massive white bear staring down at him angrily. The Cubchoo looked equally frightened, but for a different reason—it seemed to recognize the bear. Just then, Warren let out a yell, and began scrambling through the tall grass, ideally towards the clearing he agreed to meet Poliwag and Swadloon at.

He eventually arrived in the clearing just as both of his Pokémon had arrived, crouching low to the ground to hold their own against whatever was coming for them. "Hey! Guys! H-help!" Warren shouted, the Cubchoo still in his hands. He ran behind Swadloon and Poliwag before putting the Chill Pokémon on the ground and pulled out his pokédex to get a better understanding of what was chasing him. Meanwhile, Poliwag and Swadloon used bubblebeam and razor leaf, respectively.

" _Beartic, the Freezing Pokémon. Ice type. They love the cold seas of the north. They create pathways across the ocean waters by freezing their own breath_."

"Dammit, it's an ice type. Swadloon, use string shot! Poliwag, hypnosis!" Warren commanded. On accident, the string shot hit first, wrapping up the Beartic before the hypnosis could hit. Warren and his Pokémon severely underestimated the sheer power of the ice type when it ripped through the string shot, dodged the hypnosis, and used slash on both of them, knocking all of them away and clearing room to attack Warren. "Oh no…oh no no no…" Warren said, backing away. The Cubchoo then ran to the other side of the Beartic, just as the bigger Pokémon made an angry swipe at Warren.

He managed to evade the swipe, albeit barely. The Beartic was just about to take another swipe—this time likely to hit—when something flashed in front of both of them and stuck to the Beartic. Warren looked up to see a Pidove clawing at the Freezing Pokémon's face, agilely dodging each of the Beartic's attacks. It then backed up a little bit and slashed at the air in between them, briefly knocking Beartic back and giving Warren time to get out of the way.

"Poliwag, Swadloon, help this Pidove!" He shouted as he scrambled over towards his Pokémon. "Swadloon, string shot while it's distracted!"

The Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon nodded, spewing out silky string from its mouth at the Beartic, who was too busy trying to evade the Pidove. The attack knocked Beartic to the ground, just in time for Poliwag to run up in front of it and use hypnosis to successfully put it to sleep.

Warren let out a deep sigh of relief, looking at his two Pokémon, the Cubchoo and Beartic, and then the Pidove last. "Thanks, by the way." He said to the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon. "I'm Warren, by the way. I'm a traveler with my Poliwag, Swadloon, and a bunch of other friends." He then thought for a moment before speaking again. "Is there any way I can repay you for your help?"

The Pidove tilted its head for a moment before glaring at Swadloon, whose eyes widened. The Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon glared back at Pidove angrily, but Warren didn't notice this.

"You want to travel with Swadloon? Are you two friends or something?" He asked, completely ignoring—or misinterpreting—Swadloon's expression. "Well, if that's the case, mind if I catch you? I'd like to have a flying Pokémon on hand. My friend Niko is the only one with a bird, and it'll help to have more flyers with us, in case we get lost or something. How does that sound?"

Pidove turned to Warren, as if unsure. Without looking for confirmation, Warren pulled out a spare pokéball and threw it at the Pidove, who immediately went into the ball. However, it reappeared just as quickly, much to Warren's surprise.

"Alright then. Swadloon, let's fight it, yeah?" He asked. Swadloon gladly stepped forward to challenge the little bird that wished to eat it. "Use string shot!"

Swadloon unleashed a long string of silk at the Pidove, who agilely dodged and dove down at her with what looked like quick attack. The two collided, but Swadloon took the hit, especially when it meant that she could use string shot more successfully. She did so, and the Pidove crumbled to the ground in a heap of white stringy silk.

"Now, use bug bite!" Warren commanded. Swadloon opened up her leaf coat and covered Pidove in them before biting down onto the Tiny Pigeon's small talon. "Let go!" Warren said before throwing a pokéball down onto the ground. Pidove went inside, and stayed there this time. The red and white ball wiggled around a few times before eventually clicking, indicating that the capture was successful.

Warren happily picked up the pokéball and turned to Swadloon, who looked quite pleased with herself. Poliwag, on the other hand, looked passive.

* * *

"Hey guys! I'm back!" Warren said with Poliwag, Swadloon, and Pidove at his side. Niko and Charlotte both immediately got up, each with confused expressions.

"Didn't you say you were getting firewood?" Niko asked. "Also…you caught a Pidove?"

Warren nodded. "Yup! Long story, but now Rufflet isn't the only flyer in our group. In case we get lost, we also have Pidove!"

"Oh…well, smart thinking." Niko said, turning to Charlotte. "So tell us—what happened? You look a little roughed up."

Warren nodded, sitting down on one of their blankets. Poliwag sat in his lap; Pidove on his shoulder; and Swadloon to his side. He then began to talk through their small adventure, adding as much flair to it as he could. Each time he exaggerated something, one of his Pokémon would simply roll their eyes, to which Charlotte and Niko would laugh a little. They continued talking through the evening before finally falling asleep on route 7, the first day of many on their journey towards Icirrus City.


	27. For Litwick the bell tolls

**Episode 27: For Litwick the bell tolls**

The blanket of snow sank under Niko's feet as he walked through the valley on route 7. The sun was shining through a thin layer of gray clouds. He was warm, even if perspiring slightly. To his left was Charlotte; to his right was Warren. Above him flew Rufflet and Warren's new Pokémon—Pidove.

They had been walking through this valley for a couple of days now, watching the collection of mountain ranges slowly move past them. The snow was light that day, enough that Niko could see some grass and dirt underneath.

Often, he thought about new ways to train his Pokémon. During their extended breaks, he spent time trying to work with his five Pokémon on new techniques. After feeling a little better, Niko and Servine worked to practice a move called leaf blade—one that Niko had seen his Sceptile learn and one that Servine was perfectly capable of understanding. Although, due to her illness she was having difficulty gathering up the strength to learn this new move. With encouragement from Niko and her teammates, her tail began to glow a pale green color, and she was on her way to mastering a new move.

Rufflet and Solosis were working on their usual moves, often battling against one another. They enjoyed being able to practice against one another. Occasionally, they would try to help one another with technique, but neither really understood the other's movesets well enough, and often failed in their attempts.

Lastly, Tynamo spent most of his training time alone, trying to practice his electric moves, all with little success. Niko would often sit down and watch the little EleFish Pokémon lit a spark or two, or attempt to use charge beam. Tynamo's lack of success made Niko wonder how he was able to bring his battle with Swanna to a draw. One morning he pondered this while watching Servine and Boldore spar with one another. Servine was practicing her leaf blade, and Boldore's job was to defend, as he was at a natural disadvantage. He could use any move to do so, and fully utilized this rule, either by smacking Servine into the ground or kicking dirt at her face.

At one point, Servine went berserk and barraged Boldore with a series of vicious leaf blades, and all because the Ore Pokémon used a rather successful smack down to run his opponent into the ground. This was just after Servine got back into training again, and was feeling a little inadequate, Niko believed. Niko attempted to put himself in between them, but it was ultimately Solosis—of all Pokémon—to halt Servine's advances and push Boldore backwards to create space for the two so Niko could speak to them without getting hurt.

All-in-all, Niko felt more comfortable about his team of Pokémon. All he needed was a sixth to round out the group. What Pokémon that would be, he truly had no idea yet. But he was looking forward to meeting it.

Meanwhile, Warren introduced Pidove to the rest of the group after its capture. Most of the Pokémon took to the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon quite well. The only exception was Swadloon, who was in constant fear of Pidove trying to eat her. Poliwag would occasionally train with Niko's Pokémon, and since the capture of Pidove felt like spending more time by himself, away from the others. Warren noticed this, but chalked it up to the cold weather…for whatever reason.

Charlotte spent much of her time reading and playing with Deerling while Smeargle worked on her imaginary paintings. Occasionally the Painter Pokémon would accidentally shoot an ember into a practice battle and anger one—or more—of the Pokémon involved. Smeargle shrugged at the responses, as if not having a care in the world. Charlotte found this amusing, even if she had to scold her longtime partner.

"Woah…" Niko said, looking off in the distance. To their left, off in the distance, was a tall tower that stretched past the clouds. At its base was a small village. "What's that?"

"It's the Celestial Tower." Charlotte said matter-of-factly. It's actually an old resting place for Pokémon. No one goes to it much anymore, since it's kind of far away from any major cities."

"Kind of like Lavender Town…" Niko said, remembering his brief adventure into the Pokémon Tower back in Kanto. _That was four or five years ago…wow_. He thought to himself as he considered the passing of time. "Do you want to check it out?"

"No." Charlotte said quickly and curtly.

"Why not?"

"I don't do or watch anything related to horror. It's creepy, and I don't like it." She said, crossing her arms decisively.

"I think it'd be interesting, actually." Warren suggested. "Charlotte, maybe we could get a motel room or something in that village, and while Niko and I check it out you could stay there or check out the town?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you don't want to see the Celestial Tower…" Warren explained.

"Yes, but you're just going to leave me?"

"Well…we both want to go see it, and you don't…"

Charlotte stomped her foot in the snow lightly before puffing her cheeks a little in anger. "Fine. I'll go. But as soon as we see any sign of danger, I'm out. Got it?"

"Don't worry, Charlotte." Niko said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You'll—we'll be fine." She nodded, and the trio set off on their detour towards the tall tower in the distance.

The village surrounding Celestial Tower looked familiar to Niko. It took him a few moments, but he remembered walking into a small, almost irrelevant village back in Hoenn, when he met Melinda and Nero at the Trick House. The flashbacks made him frown a little, but he shoved the expression away as he continued on with his friends. The village itself was run down. Most of the buildings were made of wood, but there were a fair amount that looked like they were made of hardened clay.

It was a chilly afternoon, and it looked like most people were inside, as the streets were nearly empty, save for a few walking to unknown destinations. Warren occasionally smiled and waved at a passerby, while Charlotte looked downright unhappy, and Niko was somewhere in between. He then turned to see the tower, now only a couple blocks away. It was a truly amazing sight—the Celestial Tower seemed to reach the heavens which, in hindsight, made sense.

The Celestial Tower itself was a tall, spiraling tower with a wide base and a thinned out top. The entrance lacked a door, and was instead a tall, slightly wide tunnel. Niko peered in, eventually entering the ground floor with Warren and Charlotte closely behind. The ground floor was the largest, with graves scattered all around. The most interesting aspect of the Celestial Tower was, in Niko's opinion, the wide spiral staircase that went up as high as the tower itself.

"Well…what're we doing here?" Charlotte finally asked when Niko and Warren finished looking around in awe. "This is nice and all…but it's really creepy, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is." Niko said, grabbing one of his arms. He was certainly colder inside the tower than outside of it. "If you want to go you can. We can meet you somewhere."

"Actually…sure, I'm fine with that." Charlotte said, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her. "I'll, err, catch you two later, alright?"

"If we can't find you we'll send the birds to look for ya, alright?" Warren said, turning back to watch Charlotte quickly exit the Celestial Tower. She nodded, shivering as she moved out of sight. "So…let's check out some of these gravestones?"

"I suppose so…" Niko said, walking towards the nearest one. It was of average size, and was dedicated to a human. Niko crouched down to read it. "Lisa Juno. Looked like she died young, judging by the dates. She was also beloved by her friends, family, and son." He looked up at Warren before expressing a brief look of mourning.

"You alright, Niko?" Warren asked, sensing something off about his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…I don't really like cemeteries very much."

"No one does, man." Warren helped his friend back up.

"Have you ever been to a funeral?" Niko asked. He had been thinking about this since he was told the purpose of the Celestial Tower. He thought of his Rampardos' near-death experience, and then his father's death and subsequent funeral. The funeral he didn't attend.

"Yeah, my grandmother's. It was a couple of years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Niko said as they toured the other tombstones.

"Thanks. She was very old, and very sick. We all saw it coming, of course, but these things just happen, y'know? Death is inevitable."

"Well that's pretty dark." Niko said with a light chuckle, which seemed to off-put some of the other people there.

"It's true, but it doesn't have to be dark. Consider it a reason to live your life to its fullest. What we're doing here—traveling, experiencing the world, meeting different kinds of people and Pokémon—isn't that what life's all about?"

"You're right—it is." Niko said, examining a tombstone for a Pokémon this time. It was a Pokémon called Chandelure. "What's this Pokémon?"

"Oh, Chandelure? It's a pretty interesting Pokémon, actually." Warren said. "It's a ghost and fire type, and can be pretty strong."

"Right! I battled one once, with Charlotte. The guys on the Battle Subway—Ingo and Emmet—had an Eelektross and Chandelure." Niko said as he felt a lightbulb light up above his head. However, the moment of realization was broken when he looked down to see a small Pokémon floating in front of it.

It was no more than a foot tall, and looked like it was made completely of wax. Atop its white, melted head was an eerie purple flame. On both sides of its body were stubby arms and legs. Niko barely got to see its face before it ran away, but noticed that only one of its yellow eyes was showing—the other was covered completely in wax.

"What the heck is that?" Niko asked curiously. To answer his question, Warren pulled out his pokédex:

" _Litwick, the Candle Pokémon. Ghost and fire type. Its flame is usually out, but it starts shining when it absorbs life force from people or Pokémon_."

"Huh…Chandelure is the final form of Litwick, actually." Warren said. Niko turned to see his eyes widen with realization. "That Chandelure—the dead one—is related to that Litwick that just ran away. Maybe it was the parent, or sibling, or whatever. But definitely important."

Niko turned back to see the Litwick hurriedly floating up the spiral staircase towards the top of the tower. Without much hesitation, Niko then walked in the direction of the staircase, towards the Litwick. Warren, equally concerned, followed his friend.

Minutes later, the two made it to the top of the tower. In front of them was a raised platform, nearly half a story high, with a massive bell in the middle that was nailed to an arch that ran down both sides of the platform. Litwick stood in front of the bell and, just as Niko and Warren appeared, shot a ball of fire at it. The flame burst—a move Niko recognized—hit the bell with enough force to cause it to move back and forth.

From the bell rang an unusual sound. It clattered and clanged as it rocked back and forth with a simple energy. It was a sad sound, though. And when Niko and Warren walked up the stairs to the platform, they saw Litwick floating there, looking downcast towards the valley below.

"Hey, Litwick…" Niko said, slowly approaching the Candle Pokémon. "I don't know you, and you don't know me. But…was that Chandelure…the grave you were floating at…was that a parent of yours?"

Litwick nodded, only briefly eying Niko with its pupil-less yellow eye.

"I know what that's like. A few months ago, my father died unexpectedly. He got very sick." Niko was now right beside Litwick, looking into the snow-packed valley. He could distinctly see the trail that he, Warren, and Charlotte had taken to get to the tower. "I was away at the time, somewhere else with my friends, when it happened. I wasn't there to say good-bye to him." A tear appeared under Niko's eye. "I don't know you, or your parent, but I know that losing a parent is one of the hardest things for a child to go through. I get that.

"I'm a Pokémon Trainer now. My Dad wanted me to become one eventually. He always encouraged me to do my best, even when I wanted to quit, or I felt like I couldn't live up to his or my own standards. And here I am, collecting gym badges with my friends and Pokémon as I aspire to challenge the Unova League."

Litwick was now looking up at Niko curiously. Moments later, Niko felt hot wax touching his leg.

"Ow!" He shouted before realizing the Litwick was attempting to hug him. "Oh…hey." He crouched down and pried Litwick off of him before setting the Candle Pokémon in front of him. "I know you miss your parent. I do too. But whatever you want to do with your life, do it. If it's becoming stronger, than do that. If it's living a calm, peaceful life around here, then do that too. But do what makes you happy, because that's what that Chandelure would have wanted. My father wants me to be the best damn Pokémon trainer out there, and that's what I'm going to do."

Litwick nodded, lifting its stubby white hand to Niko. Unsure of what this meant, Niko held out his palm, and Litwick placed the hand in it.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Niko. This is my friend, Warren. Like I said, we're travelling Unova, meeting and training with all sorts of Pokémon." Then he got an idea. "Say, how would you like to join us? You can meet plenty of new friends, and see the world like we are. If you're comfortable with leaving home, that is."

Litwick looked at Warren, who gave a friendly wave back, before turning to Niko and nodding solemnly. Niko smiled, and reached into his bag to pull out a pokéball.

"Here, it's yours." He placed the pokéball in his palm, and Litwick went up to touch its center. Suddenly, the Candle Pokémon began to glow bright red and went inside. Niko could feel the cold, metallic, red and white pokéball wiggle around in his hand before eventually clicking. "Well then."

"You've got your sixth Pokémon, then." Warren said as Niko stood back up. "C'mon, let's go find Charlotte. She's probably off reading in a pub or something."

Turns out, she was. When Niko and Warren returned back to the village, they found the nearest pub and saw Charlotte sitting in the back with Smeargle to her side and Deerling sitting on the floor drinking some water. She looked up and smiled a half-smile at them. After sitting down, the two relayed their small adventure with the Litwick and the bell on the roof of the tower.

"I'm not surprised. You seem to find Pokémon in rather—err—unconventional ways, Niko." Charlotte said, looking up from her book. "I'm reading about the Nature Preserve. Supposedly it's in a secluded part of the region, with only a mysterious, powerful Pokémon living there alone."

"Interesting." Niko said, leaning over to look at the page she was on. "They don't mention it…what kind of Pokémon do you think lives there?"

"No clue. But if we had any way to get there, I'd love to check it out." She said.

"Same here!" Warren said after ordering a sandwich. "Maybe one day, though."

Charlotte nodded in agreement, and the trio didn't say much else until they left the pub. As they did, Niko looked up to see a small airship heading northwards. He could barely make out a small crest on the side that resembled Team Plasma's.

"Team Plasma…what are they up to?" Niko asked, pointing to the airship.

"No good, that's for sure." Charlotte said.

"We should figure it out!" Warren said, to which both of his friends stared at him in awe. "What?"

"How!?" Niko and Charlotte asked simultaneously.

Warren shrugged. "No idea! But if we had an opportunity to, we should take it!"

"Well, we don't." Charlotte said, frowning a little. "We need to get to Icirrus City!"

"True. Sorry…" Warren said before turning to leave the village with Niko and Charlotte, leaving Celestial Tower in the past as they continued heading north towards Twist Mountain.


	28. A secluded part of the world

**Episode 28: A secluded part of the world**

"Wait! Niko!" Warren said as his two friends were setting off towards Icirrus City, just after watching the Team Plasma airship go off into the distance. When Niko and a skeptical Charlotte both turned, they noticed Warren pointing up to the sky. "Look up there!"

Up in the sky, far to the south, was a small plane following behind. As it got closer, Niko tried to see who was piloting, but couldn't even after squinting. He sighed. "Warren…why—how would we even see what Team Plasma is up to? It's probably nothing significant anyways…let's let the authorities deal with it." This is exactly what Niko wanted to do—he didn't want to once again entangle himself in a plot revolving around some evil gang. Earlier that year he went into the Distortion World to stop Hunter J from trying to take control of space and time. The year previous to that he stopped Team Aqua and Magma from taking control of land and sea. Both of those were physically and mentally exhausting endeavors that the regional champions or the police could have easily dealt with. He didn't want to put himself—or his friends and Pokémon—through that again.

Just then, much to their surprise, the plane took a turn back towards them, moving in circles around the trio, and eventually landing on the outskirts of the village with the Celestial Tower. Jumping out of the plane as it landed was none other than Skyla—the Mistralton City Gym Leader.

"Hey! I remember you three!" She said, running up to shake Niko's hand.

"Hi Skyla…" Niko said cautiously. "I'm confused, though—why are you here? Not to be rude…or anything."

"Don't worry! I'm actually in pursuit of Team Plasma. Professor Juniper and the authorities are on their way as well."

"Why are you after them? What did they do? And why are you telling us this?" Warren asked, his interest piqued.

"They're off to the Nature Preserve, as it turns out. At least, that's where we believe they're going. The trajectory of their airship would suggest as much. At the moment, we aren't entirely sure what business they have there, other than an attempt to capture the rare Pokémon that lives within the preserve. And as for your last question…I simply noticed you three down here, and I was impressed with Niko's abilities as a trainer that I got the idea to ask for your assistance."

"Assistance in…stopping Team Plasma…?" Niko asked. He could almost sense Charlotte's expression in response to this.

"Exactly! You and your friends are just what I need until we get reinforcements from other neighboring areas. The Nature Preserve isn't even in the Unova region—it's in a different part of the world, but it is close enough to here that it falls under our care. Plus, Team Plasma is still the Unova region's problem, and I'd rather not let them taint other regions, y'know? So…will ya help me out?"

Niko thought about it for a moment. Like Charlotte, he didn't want to get involved. He's made that much clear. But he couldn't deny someone assistance if it was really necessary. Plus, a gym leader is getting involved in this—it must be important enough to warrant the involvement of ordinary trainers.

"Alright, let's do it. But only if Charlotte and Warren are in." He turned to them. "We can say no if either one of you doesn't want to go. This is a group decision."

"I'm in." Warren said quickly. He and Niko then turned to their short, brunette friend, who nervously looked at the both of them.

"Let's go." Charlotte said, albeit hesitantly.

"Yes! C'mon!" Skyla said, running off towards her plane. "It'll be a fun ride! I promise!"

The trio each took a moment to place their bags in a cargo compartment in the middle of the plane before stepping inside with it. They quickly found themselves wedged in between one another as Skyla turned briefly to look through a small window separating them. She put a pair of sky blue goggles on before giving them a thumb up. Niko, Charlotte, and Warren all returned it, and instantly the plane began moving, rocking them back and forth.

"Oh no…" Niko immediately said, remembering that he got motion sickness. "I'm so sorry, guys."

"Niko…please don't…" Charlotte begged. Fortunately for the three of them, Niko kept himself together throughout the entire plane ride, which seemed to last an eternity for Niko.

As soon as he felt the plane come to a stop, Niko opened the door, ran to a nearby bush, and retched while Warren and Charlotte collected themselves, grabbed the pokéballs from their bags, and examined the area around them.

The Nature Preserve was, simply put, the most beautiful sight either of them had ever seen. The air and water were as clean as could be. Waterfalls, hundreds of feet tall, adorned the sides of the valley that held the Nature Preserve. In all, it looked like a scene from a prehistoric era. A small path led from the plane into a forested area which, after Niko's stomach had calmed down, they entered.

"This place isn't touched by humans, is it?" Warren asked Skyla as they entered the forest, walking past ancient-looking trees.

"Nope! Not at all! This is a home to the Pokémon—and only the Pokémon. It's one of the few parts of the world that has had little or no interaction with humans, so be careful. The Pokémon might be a little, well, testy."

"If humans haven't interacted much with this place, then how was it discovered?" Charlotte asked, finding a potential flaw in Skyla's explanation.

"Well, whoever discovered it decided that it was too precious to touch. That's really all there is to it, sorry to say." She said with a friendly shrug. "Either way, we have a bigger task at hand—finding Team Plasma. How do you feel about splitting up?"

"Sure, how should we do that?" Warren asked.

"How about you and me, and Charlotte and Niko?" The Gym Leader suggested. The trio nodded, and so Skyla took Warren in a leftwards direction, while Niko and Charlotte went to the right.

After walking in silence for some time, Skyla finally attempted to make conversation. "So, you're from where again?"

"Castelia City." Warren said joyfully. The two engaged in brief conversation after that, with Skyla asking about Warren's background, his reason for travelling, and his thoughts on his companions. The writer answered each one in turn while also putting the questions back on the gym leader. As it turned out, Skyla was a part time pilot, and part time gym leader, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, Miles.

They continued this conversation until Warren heard a loud noise, and Skyla identified smoke emitting from their immediate left. Quickly exchanging looks, the two dashed off in the direction of the smoke.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Niko asked, hands in pocket, as he and Charlotte traversed the rightwards path through the Nature Preserve. "You seem…almost on edge."

"I'm fine, Niko." Charlotte said, looking ahead but still conjuring a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seemed a little off, that's all. As your companion, it's my job to make sure you're doing alright." He said, returning the smile with a smirk. "You know you can tell me anything—I'll listen."

"I know that but…I don't know, there's just a lot going on, you know? I don't want to get involved with Team Plasma all the time."

"Oh trust me, neither do I. I've had my fair share of gangs." Niko said, this time with a nervous laugh. When Charlotte seemed confused by this, Niko explained that he and his friends have dealt with Team Rocket, Magma and Aqua, and Galactic before. Much to his surprise, Charlotte knew what he was referring to. "You do?"

"Yeah, I just never heard who stopped them. Funny how it was always you. That can't be a coincidence."

"Oh it absolutely was! I didn't want to get involved!" Niko protested.

"Sure you didn't…" Charlotte said with a playful grin. Niko then pulled his hand out of his pocket and lightly pushed his friend aside, eliciting a laugh from the both of them. "Still…what you did was pretty incredible, when all is said and done. Glad we have you around."

"Pfft, I couldn't have done those things without my Pokémon…or my friends." Niko replied.

"You've got some pretty incredible Pokémon and friends, then."

Niko nodded solemnly. "I do…or, did."

"I'd like to meet them all one day." Charlotte said plainly. "If, of course, you want me to."

"Oh, of course. Thing is…I don't know if they'll accept me after what I did."

"Is that what's been bothering you?" Charlotte asked. When Niko turned to look back at her, they both stopped. "I've noticed that, on occasion, you seemed lost in your thoughts. That's it, isn't it?" Eventually, Niko nodded. "Well, I don't know exactly what to tell you, but I think reuniting with everyone will be easier than you expect."

"…thanks, Charlotte." Suddenly, they both heard a loud noise, and smoke billowing from the way they had come. Abruptly turning around, they locked eyes with one another, and dashed off in the direction of the smoke.

It didn't take long to get there—they hadn't travelled too far at that point—and when they did they found themselves in a large clearing with a lot of new sights to take in. The Team Plasma airship that they had seen fly over Celestial Tower was parked off to their right on the edge of the clearing. Then, to their left was Skyla, her Swanna, Warren, and his Pidove attempting to battle two of the grunts, both female.

Lastly, in the center of the clearing were three grunts trying to fight a large, black Pokémon. It looked to be about a tall as Niko, and was bipedal. It had a dark gray covering along its head and most of its back and front. It bore two large tusks that resembled scythes. Each one was black with red edges, and were located on its upper jaw on the side of its mouth. Niko could hardly see them, but its eyes looked red. Its hands were small and circular with small red claws.

"I never thought I'd see one of these in person…" Charlotte said, eyes widening. Confused, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Haxorus, the Axe Jaw Pokémon. Dragon type. Its tusks are incredibly destructive. They can easily slice through a thick, sturdy steel column every time_."

"Wait, so Team Plasma is trying to catch _this_ thing?" Niko asked, holding his hand out to motion towards the creature.

"Yes!" Skyla interjected before commanding Swanna to use surf on the Plasma grunt's Pokémon. "This is a special Haxorus—it's an odd color, very old, and very powerful. It's the protector of the Nature Preserve!" She shouted, watching as a wave crashed down on the Trubbish and Purrloin they were fighting. Meanwhile, Warren commanded an air cutter on the Purrloin, who was clearly faster than the Tiny Pigeon and swatted him out of the way before making a run for Swanna.

"Niko—a little help!" Warren said. "Pidove, return. You did great buddy. Swadloon, I choose you!"

Niko nodded, turning to Charlotte before pulling out a pokéball. "Litwick, let's go!" He shouted.

"Oh, it's kind of cute." Charlotte added, looking down at the Candle Pokémon. "Hi there Litwick. I'm Charlotte."

Litwick shyly nodded back at Charlotte before turning to Niko, who reassured her. "Now, Litwick, let's use…err…I'm sorry, I don't know what moves you know." He said, laughing nervously. Litwick, who seemed oddly amused by this, floated towards the Haxorus and used a flame burst on the grunt's Pokémon. _I didn't even have to tell her who we were fighting…it's like she had some sort of intuition about it…_ "Litwick, use flame burst again!"

"Deerling, I choose you! Use double kick!" Charlotte shouted. Both Pokémon dashed towards the trio of grunts, who were using Garbodors and Raticates to challenge the Haxorus. The massive trash Pokémon turned to face Litwick and shot out a series of sludge bombs from its tube-like hands, to which the Candle Pokémon dodged agilely and commanded another flame burst, which inadvertently hit the two accompanying Raticates as well. It soon seemed that they had the upper hand, since with the addition of Warren and Skyla—and their Pokémon—the grunts were defeated, and the Haxorus seemed to find safety.

"Great job everyone. Team Plasma—leave." Skyla finally said, turning to the grunts. Scared, they began to make a run for the airship when suddenly a flash appeared in front of them, attacking Niko's Litwick and Charlotte's Deerling, immediately knocking them to the ground. In their place was a small, red and grey metallic Pokémon with blades for hands and a metallic helmet with a scythe-shaped blade on the front. Another then showed up to attack the Haxorus by surprise, but was knocked back by what looked like dragon tail, launching the strange Pokémon across the clearing.

"Who—what? Litwick, are you okay?" Niko said, running over to his Pokémon. He was, however, stopped as a tall man in a ninja outfit stood in between them. "Wh—who are you?"

"Shadow Triad. Get away from the Haxorus. It is Team Plasma's now." He said in a soft, but authoritative, tone."

"Like hell we will! Litwick, use flame burst!"

"Absol, night slash." Another man, dressed in the same clothes, said as he summoned a familiar dark-type Pokémon to challenge Niko's. Litwick was hit by the Disaster Pokémon's crescent-shaped horn, launching the Candle Pokémon clear across the field.

"Swadloon, razor leaf!" Warren commanded. Skyla re-summoned her Swanna and called for it to use surf on the two Pokémon just as Charlotte identified the one with hand-blades:

" _Pawniard, the Sharp Blade Pokémon. Dark and steel type. Ignoring their injuries, groups attack by sinking the blades that cover their bodies into their prey_."

Both Pawniards—the one attacked by Haxorus returned—and slashed at Swanna and Swadloon, largely ignoring their attacks. One of them hit Swadloon, sending her rolling across the field.

"Swadloon, are you alright?" He asked to his Pokémon, who was taking hit after hit from the unusually agile Pawniard, unable to get an attack in edgewise. Meanwhile, the absol—along with two more Pawniards—were fighting the Haxorus in an attempt to capture it. One of the members of the Shadow Triad was now taking steps towards Niko and Charlotte, who had both reached for another pokéball to challenge him.

"Swad!" Swadloon shouted as she rolled across the ground from Pawniard's slash attack. Warren then ran over to his Pokémon's side, kneeling over her protectively.

"It's okay Swadloon. Here, return." He said. However, just as he was about to pull out a pokéball, it was swatted out of his hand and tossed across the field. Pawniard then raised its arm-blade to attack Swadloon, but Warren grabbed her, covering her in his own body. "You're going to have to get through me first." He said, tightly holding Swadloon. Pawniard then prepared to land its attack on Warren, just as a flash of white light engulfed the area. Warren was forced to let go of Swadloon as she grew much larger, now only a couple feet shorter than him and Niko.

The new Pokémon was bipedal, unlike Swadloon, and had a broad, split leaf around her large, round head. In between the leaf were long antennae that ended in semicircles. Its eyes were now red, and a dark green thorax. Its long abdomen was yellow and covered in a green leaf. Its hands were long and leaf-like with a piece taken out of each.

" _Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon. Bug and grass type. Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth_."

Warren stood up in awe, but wasted no time in attacking, using the evolution sequence to his advantage. "Leavanny, let's go! Attack Pawniard!" He shouted, giving his friends an opportunity to do so as well.

"Servine, leaf blade!" Niko shouted, sending out his own Pokémon.

"Smeargle, ember!" Charlotte said as well. Both of them ran towards the Pawniard and Absol attacking the Haxorus, distracting two of the Sharp Blade Pokémon while Haxorus dealt with Absol. Meanwhile, Skyla's Swanna slashed at one of the only Pawniards left, an extra boost of optimism giving them the help that they needed.

Leavanny—now with a new move, slash—attacked Pawniard relentlessly, bringing her leaf-hands down on the Sharp Blade Pokémon that assaulted her previously. Pawniard attempted to parry each blow, but eventually fell victim to the onslaught of attacks by the far larger and quicker Leavanny.

"Finish it off with bug bite!" Warren commanded. Leavanny kicked Pawniard to the ground before bringing her mouth down to its leg. She bit down hard, picking Pawniard up and throwing it high into the air. "Now, razor leaf!"

Leavanny opened her arms out wide, summoning a flurry of leaves into the air at Pawniard, enough to defeat it before it hit the ground. Unable to control her newfound energy, Leavanny turned to the lone Absol and rushed towards it. Haxorus, noticing this, grabbed Absol's horn and tossed it towards Leavanny, who used slash to finish it off. Just as she did this, Servine, Smeargle, and Swanna all managed to defeat their opponents as well.

The Shadow Triad, now also defeated, turned to the grunts. "Leave." They said before phasing away as well, leaving Niko, his friends, and Skyla alone with the Haxorus.

Warren immediately ran up to Leavanny and hugged her. "You did amazing out there! I'm so proud of you!" As he did that, he felt an odd sensation in his wrist. Looking down, he noticed the Nurturing Pokémon using her string shot to wrap it up. "Oh…looks like I must've sprained my wrist during all of this."

"Now we've got a medic on our team." Niko said with a wry smile as he walked over to Warren with Servine. Charlotte returned Smeargle and quickly joined them. "By the way, congrats on the evolution, Leavanny. You really saved us."

Leavanny smiled as she turned to look up at Niko. Soon enough, they were all joined by the shiny Haxorus, who tried to embrace Skyla.

"Oh! Oh! You're welcome, Haxorus! I'll tell Drayden that you're doing just fine. If he knew what had happened here, he would've come in an instant." Haxorus nodded before going over to Niko, Charlotte, Warren, and Leavanny and thanking them as well. "They don't look like it, but Haxorus are very friendly Pokémon. They can be a little territorial, though…" Skyla said. 'I can't thank you three enough. You really saved the day here."

"No problem." Warren said, his wrist now tied up in string. "Happy to help. Right, guys?"

"Indeed!" Niko said, patting Servine. Litwick was now floating beside them. "Oh, Servine, meet our newest team member, Litwick. I don't think you've gotten a chance to meet yet. Litwick, this is Servine, my first Pokémon in Unova."

The two exchanged greetings before Niko returned them. Skyla then walked them all back to her small plane with plans to take them back to Celestial Tower where she found them. On the way, Niko pat Charlotte on the top of her back.

"You did good today." He said. "How do you feel about it?"

"Fine. It was nice to help out Haxorus. I kind of see why you've done this stuff before—helping people." She said quietly, out of earshot of Warren. Niko simply nodded, and the conversation quickly ended.

They had finally reached the plane when Niko took a deep breath and found his way into the cramped compartment, soon joined by his friends. Before they realized it, they were landing back at the base of Celestial Tower. Niko got out, feeling nauseous once more, but was able to get over it when Warren grabbed an ice pack from his bag and placed it on the back of Niko's neck, soothing him.

"So, what's next for you three?" Skyla asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Icirrus City." Niko said plainly, trying to focus his breathing to calm his body down.

"Oh! That's pretty far. Do you plan on going around Twist Mountain?"

"Through it." Warren said. "But we'll probably head out in the morning." He said, noting the fact that it was now nighttime.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. I'd take you there myself, but I'm running low on fuel and need to stock up back in Mistralton City. Got another trip I'm going on in the morning. But again, thank you for everything. I really appreciate it!"

"Glad to help, Skyla." Niko said, suddenly feeling himself again.

The Mistralton City Gym Leader nodded. "And best of luck in your upcoming gym battles. I believe you'll do swell!" She said before hopping back into the cockpit of her plane, putting her goggles back on, and flying off minutes later, leaving Niko, Charlotte, and Warren alone in the small village at Celestial Tower.


	29. The value of power

**Episode 29: The value of power**

"Litwick, use flame burst!" Niko commanded. The Candle Pokémon charged forward, unleashing a small fireball from her mouth towards an undefined target. The attack ultimately exploded in midair, slightly melting the snow around it. "Great job!" Niko said, wanting to pat his Pokémon but decided against it. Litwick was, as one could imagine, quite hot.

Since saving a shiny Haxorus from Team Plasma in the Nature Preserve, Niko and his friends had continued their journey northwards towards Icirrus City, where they hoped Niko could get his seventh gym badge. Along the way, he continued training with his now-full team of Pokémon, all of whom were showing progress, albeit in varying degrees. Servine had now mastered leaf blade, but Boldore was struggling with getting the move rock slide down pat. Niko figured that the move would be relatively easy to understand, given that the Ore Pokémon was quite adept at using rock blast. Nevertheless, he continued to help Boldore get over this.

Tynamo was still struggling with reaching his limits with regards to his electricity usage. This didn't seem to concern Niko in particular, but it wasn't helping the EleFish Pokémon's confidence, which was understandably shaken. On occasion, Niko would have Tynamo practice against another Pokémon—usually Servine or Boldore, due to their relative resistance to electric types—to help ignite some sort of passion inside of the tiny Pokémon. It didn't seem to work.

Solosis and Litwick didn't have much to learn. Niko wanted Solosis to—somehow—upgrade her psychic abilities, but he didn't exactly know how she would do that. As for Litwick, Niko was still getting a handle on her moveset as well as working on her social interactions. He quickly noticed the introverted nature of the Candle Pokémon, and tried to figure out ways to help Litwick deal with that, especially around so many new and unfamiliar Pokémon.

Sitting down, he turned to Warren and Charlotte, who were engaging in their usual activities—Charlotte with her reading and Warren with his writing. Since leaving the Nature Preserve and Celestial Tower, the conversation between the three had been oddly scarce. Niko was used to it, to be sure—on his previous journeys he had moments of little to no conversation with his friends. However, this was the first time this had happened with his new friends, and so it felt awkward to him, at least initially.

Part of him thought that Charlotte was frustrated with him, relating specifically to their most recent adventure. It was clear from the start that she didn't want to, and Niko felt particularly guilty for forcing her into it. He tried to shove the thought away, but he couldn't help but feel even the least bit paranoid.

The trip to Twist Mountain took several day, most of which was spent with Niko and his Pokémon training when they could. Otherwise, they were wading through the increasing deeper snow, to the point where the trio was moving at a sluggish pace, especially since the snow was now past their ankles. This made it more difficult for Charlotte—the shortest of the three—to walk, and so they took their time getting through route 7 and to their destination. Along the way they would see the occasional Pokémon—sometimes a Deerling or even a Cubchoo, but not much else. Charlotte surmised that they might have migrated. Pidove, for example, aren't found in this part of the region during the winter.

Several days later, they made it to Twist Mountain. It was, simply put, a massive mound of Earth that was held together by other mountains in the range. Niko looked up at it, and sighed heavily.

"So…we're crossing _though_ this?" He asked, turning to Warren and Charlotte.

"Guess so. It's the quickest way, right?" Warren replied, turning to Charlotte.

"That's what I read, yes." She said plainly. "Let's go. It shouldn't take more than a day or so to get through, I don't think."

And so they entered through a cave entrance massive enough to fit a train. As they walked through, Niko noticed train tracks that looked halfway put together. "I guess someone is trying to make it easier to get through?" He asked.

"Looks like it. Maybe Clay has something to do with it." Warren suggested. "I read somewhere that he owns a mining company. He's probably behind all of this." He looked down at the train tracks. "I like trains."

"You do?" Niko and Charlotte asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, since childhood. I don't know why—they're just so cool. The way they work, and how efficient they can be. I like older-style trains, though, but that's just me I guess. I'd love to see this when it's completed."

"Maybe we can come back one day." Niko said optimistically, which seemed to cheer Warren up.

The trio continued walking along the half-completed train tracks for what seemed like several hours until they entered a massive chamber. Here, they noticed walkways running down deep into the mountain, each leading to different tunnels. The chamber looked to be shaped like a terrace, with each level flattened so the paths were walkable. They looked down further to see construction workers digging and moving heavy steel beams around with the help of Gurdurrs—the fighting type Pokémon.

"Yeah, they're definitely doing work here. But for what?" Niko asked as he and Charlotte noticed Warren walking down a set of stairs to a lower level. "Where are you going? Wait!" Niko said, running off after his friend. Charlotte, sighing a little, joined them.

"Just going to check this place out. Why not?" He asked in response to Niko's facial expression, which suggested bemusement. "We've got the time, right? Let's not waste it."

"Right, but…"

"No buts, Niko. C'mon!" He said, patting Niko on the back and continuing down the pathway. The trio walked down to the bottom floor, where cranes, miners, and Pokémon were all working to construct something. As they toured the area, the miners and Pokémon would occasionally look at them as if they were aliens.

Eventually, one miner approached them. "Howdy, kids! What are young people like you doing down here?"

"Just exploring. We're on our way to Icirrus City." Niko explained.

"Ah, Icirrus City. Hard to get there at this time of year."

"What do you mean?" Niko wondered.

"Well, most of Twist Mountain's exterior is covered in snow, obviously!" It wasn't so obvious to Niko, and he made that known with a simple facial expression. "Anyway, how 'bout a quiz to pass the time! I'm on break, and would love to chat with some visitors!"

"Uh…sure?" Niko said. Warren and Charlotte simple shrugged, letting the miner continue his conversation.

"Alright, first question! Which place is famous for an old rust crane truck?"

"…Virbank City…?" Warren suggested.

"Correct! Well done!" The miner said happily. "Second question: Trucks on route 4 come in three different colors: red, blue, and…what?"

"Yellow…?" Charlotte answered, taking a moment to remember their day at the Performance Festival near Nimbasa City, where Niko caught Solosis.

"You guys are smart! Third question: Which Gym has a yellow drill car?"

"Driftveil Gym." Niko said quickly, remembering seeing mining equipment in Clay's underground gym.

"Damn! Fourth and final question: How many bulldozers are there here, in Twist Mountain?" The miner crossed his arms to wait, as if assuming that the trio would take a while to answer. He seemed amused at the fact that they all looked around in search of these bulldozers.

After a few minutes, they exchanged mental notes, and Niko delivered their answer. "Three…?"

"Wrong! It was two! Well done, though! 75% correct!" The miner said, reaching his hand out to shake Niko's. "Thanks for entertaining me on my break, but I have to get back to work. Enjoy your trip!" He then turned around and went back to a Gurdurr, presumably his own.

"That was odd." Niko finally said with a shrug. "I guess let's just keep going?"

Warren and Charlotte both nodded when they heard a destructively loud voice bellowing across the ground floor. Turning to see the origin of the sound, they realized the person wasn't even talking to them. He—and it was a big, burly man—was addressing a construction worker.

"IF YOU CAN'T GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, I'LL FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN!?" He shouted. The man was massive. He was tall, dark-skinned with pale yellow hair and eyebrows. But that wasn't even his most unique quality—he was dressed in a martial arts uniform that reminded Niko of Bruno from Kanto's Elite 4. However, this man was wearing a white top that was tied together at the waist with a black belt. Bruno, by contrast, didn't wear a shirt.

"Who's that?" Niko finally asked out of curiosity.

"It's Marshal of the Unova Elite 4." Charlotte said, almost in awe. "I've never seen an Elite 4 member up close before. Oh all of them, Marshal is the one I'd have expected to see last."

"Why is that?" Niko wondered.

"Because he's…well, I've just never been into martial arts, or mining, since he's clearly into that as well."

"Is he a fighting type specialist, by chance?" Niko asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Kanto has someone similar—Bruno." Charlotte nodded, as if completely understanding.

"You should battle him, Niko." Warren suggested, almost instinctively. Niko, for his part, reacted in much the same way—which shock.

"No! He's an Elite 4! Why on Earth would I do that?"

"Because you absolutely should…?" Warren said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's not every day that a trainer gets to challenge an Elite 4!"

This was true—Niko had rarely gotten a chance. But when he did, he took it. It made him think back to the first time he ever challenged a member of the Elite 4—Agatha, at Kanto's Pokémon Tower. He got clobbered by her ghost types, but it taught him a valuable lesson in how strong these trainers were. It also made him think—if he ever won a Pokémon League, he'd have to face off against the Elite 4 of that region. If his goal in Unova was to go all the way, he'd potentially have to face this trainer that was now only a hundred meters away. The mere thought of it was daunting enough.

While he was deep in thought, Niko noticed Warren on the other end of the ground floor, talking with Marshal. Niko could hear Charlotte's sigh as their friend walked back to them, Marshal just behind. When they were close enough, Niko realized how freakishly tall the Elite 4 was in comparison to him—and Niko was the tallest in his group!

"Hello, Niko." Marshal said in a deep voice. "I'm Marshal of the Unova Elite 4. Your friend here tells me that you're an aspiring Pokémon Trainer, and that you want to request a battle from me. Is that correct?"

"I suppose so." Niko said, equally plainly—it didn't seem like Marshal was much for talking himself.

"I rarely accept battles from strangers, but it's been a while since a quality battle, and your friend here tells me that you're quite strong." Niko gave Warren an ugly look. "I accept your challenge. Let us make this a one-on-one battle, yes?"

"Sounds good to me." Niko said. He and Marshal then took several steps backwards to create a makeshift battlefield. As they did so, construction workers and miners crowded around the edges of the imaginary field, as did Charlotte and Warren.

"If something happens to his Pokémon, this is your fault." Charlotte warned her friend.

"Niko will be fine!" Warren said optimistically.

"You've never seen Marshal battle before, then. I have. He's almost merciless."

"So can Niko, if he's pushed far enough." Warren said, despite a lack of evidence to back him up.

"Whatever you say…" Charlotte replied, shaking her head.

"As the pupil of Champion Alder, and a master of the fighting type I, Marshal of the Elite 4, challenge Niko of Pallet Town!" Marshal announced. "Conkeldurr, I choose you! Kiai!" He then took a fighting pose, as if he were about to engage in physical combat himself.

Out of Marshal's pokéball came a short, but wide sepia-colored Pokémon that resembled an ogre. Its nose was large and red, with its face also having a prominent brow, a wide mouth, a gray tuft on its chin, dark rings around its eyes and a bulbous feature sticking up from the back of its head. In each of its hands it carried concrete pillars. Thick violet bands and tendons adorn its shoulders, chest, back, and thighs. For good measure, Charlotte pulled out her pokédex to examine this Pokémon:

" _Conkeldurr, the Muscular Pokémon. Fighting type. Rather than rely on force, they master moves that utilize the centrifugal force of spinning concrete_."

"Oh man…" Warren said, now in shock. "That'll be hard for Niko to beat."

"I _told_ you!" Charlotte said in a scolding tone.

Niko, for his part, tried to not register a response. He'd dealt with plenty of fighting type specialists before—Bruno, Chuck, Brawly, Maylene. Each time, he managed to at least hold his own, if not outright win. However, Conkeldurr seemed to be a different kind of opponent. And his team of Pokémon was far less developed.

"Rufflet, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his faithful Eaglet Pokémon. "We're up against a member of the Unova Elite 4, so let's give it our best, alright?" He asked. Rufflet nodded happily, eager to be in a battle once more. "Use hone claws!"

"Conkeldurr, bulk up!" Marshal commanded. The Muscular Pokémon stepped forward, shaking the ground underneath it, and puffed out its chest and arms, increasing the size of each. "Now, stone edge!"

The Conkeldurr then slammed one of its concrete pillars into the ground, suddenly shooting pointed rocks out of the ground in a straight line until they hit Rufflet. The Eaglet Pokémon was shot directly into the air before falling back down, when Marshal commanded Conkeldurr to repeat the move once again, hitting Rufflet successfully.

"Rufflet, aerial ace!" Niko shouted to the dazed and confused Rufflet. He fortunately re-oriented himself in time to dodge a third successive stone edge, instead diving down to strike at his massively strong opponent. "Great job, Rufflet! Now, fury attack!"

Rufflet charged in talons-first, striking at Conkeldurr with everything he had. Unfortunately, that was all he could muster, since Marshal called for Conkeldurr to use hammer arm. One of the concrete pillars began to glow before it struck Rufflet in the side, launching him across the right side of the battlefield and into the side of a yellow bulldozer. Rufflet crumbled onto the ground, unable to battle.

"Conkeldurr, return." Marshal said, lowering his head as he did so. He then watched as Niko rushed over to Rufflet, picking up the small Pokémon.

"Rufflet! Rufflet are you alright?" Niko asked, raising his voice a little in hopes that Rufflet would hear him.

"It's only unconscious." Marshal said bluntly, now walking towards his defeated opponent. "I'm sorry if my Conkeldurr did too much damage—he's not exactly used to fighting weaker opponents."

If it was an attempt at slighting Niko, he hardly noticed. Marshal was right—Niko and his Pokémon weren't anywhere close to ready to challenge the Elite 4. If Rufflet—or any of his Pokémon, really—were to defeat the Elite 4, much less win the Unova League, then they would need to evolve. Which made Niko briefly wonder: was Rufflet capable of evolving?

"Thanks for the opportunity, Marshal. I really appreciate it, even if you creamed me." Niko finally said, looking up at the Elite 4. "I'm sorry if I wasted your time."

"It's not an issue, Niko. You've got a long way to go, I think. Conkeldurr is, without a doubt, my strongest Pokémon. Had I chosen someone else, you might have had a better shot, I believe. If we ever meet again, I will accept a rematch, but you best be more prepared to face me."

"I—we will. I promise you that." Niko said, now returning Rufflet to his pokéball. Marshal shook his hand, and the Elite 4 member walked off. That's when Niko realized he was barefoot. _My god…how does he do that?_ Niko thought to himself.

"Niko…I'm so sorry!" Warren said, quickly apologizing as soon as his friend walked back over. "Is Rufflet going to be okay?"

"He will be, I think. Tonight I'll give him some Lum berries. Those usually cheer him up." Niko said with a smile. Charlotte, in particular, looked worried. "You alright?"

"Concerned about Rufflet. Warren needs to be more careful when he's approaching random strangers to battle you, I think." She said, giving their friend a side-eye.

"I'll work on it. But first, we need to get to Icirrus City!" Warren said, slapping both of his friends on the back.

"You've got that right." Niko said, giving his friend a smirk. They then walked off, in the same direction they were going, through the ground floor of Twist Mountain, and towards their next destination. Along the way, Niko had a lot to think about.


	30. The value of strategy

**Episode 30: The value of strategy**

The trip through Twist Mountain didn't take too long—less than a day. By the afternoon following Niko's battle against Marshal of the Elite 4, the trio had arrived in Icirrus City, which was resting at the base of the mountain range on the other end of Twist Mountain.

Icirrus City was, understandably, covered in a thick blanket of snow, as it was now deep into winter. The city itself was a collection of frozen lakes and ponds with houses and buildings surrounding them, to give it the appearance of a large village as compared to a city. Windmills were abundant southeastern edge of the city, close to their location. Off to the north, Niko noticed a massive tower peering into the clouds high above—much like Celestial Tower, but taller and older-looking.

"What to do first?" Warren asked as they sat down in the local Pokémon Center to warm themselves up. Even with layers of clothing, Charlotte and Warren were still freezing cold. Niko, who was somehow more adept to the cold weather, was fine, but still appreciated the warming-up with hot tea and a warm meal, both courtesy of the Pokémon Center.

"Well, I'd prefer to stay inside, if possible." Charlotte said before drinking hot tea, careful not to accidentally spill any on her thin, forest green sweater.

"Agreed." Warren said, then eying Niko on the opposite end of their booth. "Niko?"

"Well, maybe we can head for the gym tomorrow? I think later I'll go out and train with some of my Pokémon. I know you are both pretty cold, so you don't have to join me."

"I will." Charlotte said, albeit with less enthusiasm than she otherwise would. A surprised Niko nodded with a smile.

"I might as well, but I want to get some writing done first. I didn't really document your battle with Marshal yet." Warren said in response to Niko's offer.

"Fair enough. Be nice to Rufflet in it, will you?" He said with a smirk.

"Of course I will. I love your Rufflet." Warren replied.

That evening Niko, Litwick, Boldore, and Solosis all stood on the snow-packed practice battlefield. Charlotte was sitting on the sidelines watching with Deerling, who hardly seemed to have a problem with the cold weather. In the room that they were staying in Servine, Tynamo, and Rufflet watched. The latter, eager to get out there, was instructed by Niko to stay put, since like Servine he couldn't handle the cold weather, especially at night. Smeargle kept them company with a fire lit in the room to warm them up. Warren and his Pokémon also sat in there, watching while the trainer wrote in his booklet.

"Niko, here's a combination your Litwick could try." Charlotte said, standing up off of the bench to approach her friend while he was giving commands. Once Boldore was off to practice rock slide, and Solosis to practice her psychic moves and hidden power, he turned to his friend.

"What's up?"

"Litwick can learn will-o-wisp. You know what that does, right?"

"Burns the opponent, yeah." Niko replied. "Generally ghost types learn that."

"Yep. But Litwick can also learn hex, like Smeargle did. Do you know what its side effect is?"

"No, what?" Niko asked.

"Hex doubles in power if the target is afflicted with a status condition, like a burn." Charlotte said with a smirk.

"That's genius. Thanks, bud." Niko said, side-hugging Charlotte before addressing his Pokémon. "You heard that, right Litwick? Let's give it a shot!" Niko said, turning to Boldore, who had just failed once more to learn rock slide. "Hey Boldore, do you mind practicing with Litwick, I want to try a new combination."

Boldore nodded, waddling over to give ample space between him and his teammate.

"Alright Boldore, fight Litwick as you would with any opponent, alright? Litwick, use will-o-wisp!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward.

Blue flames emitted from around Litwick as she fired them off at Boldore, one-by-one. Each blue fireball hit the Ore Pokémon, who tried to retaliate with rock slide, but failed to land a single rock on Litwick.

"Now, hex!" Niko shouted. Litwick eyes began to glow purple and red while she thrust her stubby wax arms out forward to conjure a sphere of black energy. She then fired it at Boldore, who was cringing from the burn. Even though Boldore was a rock type, and hardly affected by any of Litwick's moves, this hex attack seemed to do a significant amount of damage, as it struck the Ore Pokémon with enough force to launch Boldore into the air, nearly crashing into Solosis and the wall separating the Pokémon Center from the rest of the city.

"Wow…" Charlotte said as she marveled at the power Litwick emitted.

"Great job, Litwick!" Niko shouted happily. "I had no idea that could work!" He turned to Charlotte, eyes glowing with pride. This was enough to make Charlotte smile as well, turning a light pink in response. "We're going to beat the Icirrus Gym with no trouble at all!"

* * *

The following afternoon, Niko spent some time training with his Pokémon—this time with his full team. He and Litwick practiced their new combination move a couple more times (at Boldore's expense) before healing up, eating, and making their way towards the Icirrus City Gym.

Before leaving the Pokémon Center, they noticed a familiar face entering it. Niko and Warren had to do a quick double-take before realizing they recognized the tall man with light blue hair. It was Brycen, the gym leader-turned-actor that they met in Virbank City.

"Brycen?" Warren asked, as if to confirm his suspicions. This time, Brycen wasn't in a costume for movie. He was dressed in a light blue Kimono with navy blue athletic pants that were rolled halfway up his leg. His hair was braided upwards and tied with a navy-blue tie. Finally, he wore a pale blue mask around his eyes.

"Hello? Oh…hi. You two look familiar. The lady…not so much. Hi, I'm Brycen, actor."

"Charlotte, traveler." She said quickly.

"We met you in Virbank City." Warren explained. "You said that next time you met my friend, Niko, you'd challenge him. He now has six gym badges, and is about to go get his seventh at this city's gym"

"Ah, right. I remember now. You were very enthusiastic about your friend. But, unfortunately when I left the gym there was no replacement. It's now more of a training ground, with no official gym leader. I come by on occasion to help up and coming ice type specialists, in hopes of finding a real replacement. It's been a couple years, and still haven't found anyone yet." He then looked at Niko curiously. They were roughly the same height. "But, I did accept your challenge before. So how about this—I will battle you at my old gym, but if you defeat me, you won't earn an official gym badge from me. Does that sound fair to you?"

"Yes. Yes it does." Niko said, much to Warren's shock. Acknowledging it, Niko added. "Any practice is good practice, right?"

"Right." Warren said, nodding in agreement.

"Indeed it is. Let me show you to the gym once I heal up my own Pokémon." Brycen said with an eager smile.

After half an hour, the former gym leader took Niko, Charlotte, and Warren to the northern end of the city, where they arrived at a cave entrance resting under the top of a small hill. On the inside, two light blue doors sat in a closed state until Brycen unlocked them and walked inside.

"Looks like the keys haven't changed at all." He said with a smirk. "That's a good thing."

"When was the last time you visited this gym?" Charlotte asked.

"Maybe a year ago. I've been busy with the Brycen-Man movie series." He replied as they entered the main room of the gym which was, as Niko imagined, an ice battlefield. Large ice-covered rocks were scattered across the field. "This is where I used to battle trainers when I was still a gym leader. Looks like it hasn't changed much here, either. Anyway, this battle will be three-on-three. I assume that, since you have six gym badges, you likely have more than three Pokémon?"

"Yes." Niko said simply as he stood at one end of the field. Brycen took the opposite end, and smirked. Warren took on the duty of being the referee for the match, while Charlotte sat with her Pokémon in the stands.

"I might not be a gym leader anymore, but I believe I've still got it. Vanillish, I choose you!" He shouted. Out of the first pokéball came an odd-looking Pokémon, one that resembled a vanilla ice cream cone. Its eyes were dark blue with small, ice crystals at the sides. It had a dark blue mouth, two ice crystals below its mouth, and two stubby limbs that resembled icicles. The lower half of its body resembled a large icicle, or a cone.

" _Vanillish, the Icy Snow Pokémon. Ice type. They cool down the surrounding air and create ice particles, which they use to freeze their foes_." Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Boldore, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his Ore Pokémon. "Use smack down!"

"Vanillish, mirror shot!" Brycen commanded. Vanillish's body began to glow a light blue color, which formed into a light blue orb of energy. The Icy Snow Pokémon then fired the attack at Boldore. It met with the smack down move and exploded in the middle of the battlefield.

"Boldore, rock blast!" Niko commanded. The Ore Pokémon then conjured a series of rocks that each hit Vanillish. However, the ice type retaliated by conjuring another mirror shot and firing it at Boldore, forcing the Ore Pokémon backwards. "Smack down!"

"Acid armor!" Brycen commanded. Vanillish then coated itself in cold air, almost making it invisible. The golden orb that Boldore fired off successfully hit Vanillish, but it hardly seemed to have an effect. "Now, mirror shot!"

Vanillish conjured another light blue orb of energy and hit Boldore once again, knocking him to the ground this time, breaking some of the ice beneath him. Now with his feet stuck in the ice, Boldore found himself unable to move anywhere. On Niko's command, he fired off another smack down which hit Vanillish and brought the Icy Snow Pokémon to the ground as well, but was forced to endure yet another mirror shot attack.

"Boldore, you can do this! Remember—you're stronger! You've mastered powerful moves before, like smack down! I know you've got it in you! Boldore, use rock slide!" Niko shouted, thrusting a fist into the air.

Boldore, hearing this, raised his head to the sky, conjuring a wave of rocks, all on varying sizes, that crashed down onto the field, shattering the ice around it and slamming right into Vanillish, knocking the Icy Snow Pokémon backwards. It then rolled, in the wake of the attack, towards Brycen, where it lay defeated.

"Vanillish is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner!" Warren declared. "Brycen will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Cryogonal, I choose you!" Brycen shouted, throwing out a second pokéball. This time, the Pokémon resembled a blue, hexagonal snowflake. It's facial expression—aggressive-looking—is frozen still. Small snowflakes surrounded its body.

" _Cryogonal, the crystallizing Pokémon. Ice type. They are composed of ice crystals. They capture prey with chains of ice, freezing the prey at -148 degrees Fahrenheit._ "

"Cryogonal, use aurora beam!" Brycen commanded. Boldore, while still immobile, retaliated with smack down, which blocked the aurora beam, and gave him the opportunity to use rock slide from above. Cryogonal, somehow sensing the rocks, weaved in and out of them before launching an aurora beam up close on Boldore. The force of the attack was enough to knock the Ore Pokémon out of the rut he was in and flip backwards, eventually landing face-first into the ice floor, unable to battle.

"Boldore is unable to battle, Cryogonal is the winner!" Warren declared, throwing his hand up towards Brycen.

"Return, Boldore. Great job, too." Niko exchanged pokéballs, trying to figure out who he wanted to use this time. The safest bet would be Solosis or Litwick. Deciding to save the latter for last, he chose the former. "Solosis, I choose you!"

"Cryogonal, use rapid spin!" Brycen commanded.

"Solosis, hidden power!" Niko shouted, knowing that his Cell Pokémon had a fire-type hidden power. Solosis waited for Cryogonal to get close before moving out of the way, forcing the Crystallizing Pokémon into the ground before summoning a series of orange orbs, firing each one in succession at her opponent. Small burst of fire erupted as they hit Cryogonal, who roared out before spitting out an aurora beam at Solosis, who took the hit and was thrust backwards, in an archlike motion, into the ground.

"Frost breath!" Brycen called out. Cryogonal rose back into the air before spraying snow from its mouth towards Solosis, who was forced along the ground from the force of the attack. "Now, rapid spin!"

"Rollout!" Niko commanded. Solosis quickly got back up, floating a few inches into the air before breaking into a spinning motion, aiming to hit Cryogonal. They collided, forcing Solosis to bounce off of her opponent due to her gelatinous body. She rolled to the side and then, on Niko's command, summoned a hidden power from behind Cryogonal, forcing it into the ground. "Finish it off with psywave!"

Solosis commanded a wave of psychic energy from her mind, hitting Cryogonal—who was lying face-first on the ground—and dragging it along the icy floor like it did with Solosis moments earlier. Realizing Cryogonal might still have more in it, Niko commanded Solosis to use rollout once more. Upon impact, Solosis seemed to win the match.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle, Solosis is the winner! Brycen will now send out his third and final Pokémon!" Warren declared.

"Beartic, I choose you!" Brycen shouted, summoning a familiar Pokémon, at least to Warren. "Swagger!"

"Solosis, hidden power!" Niko shouted. It didn't seem to have much of an affect, however—Solosis instead put up a light screen, for whatever reason. "Okay…Solosis, you need to listen to me, please. Use hidden power!"

"Beartic, brine." Brycen simply said. The Freezing Pokémon summoned a burst of salty water towards Solosis, who was hit and pushed backwards across the battlefield before ultimately dropping to the ground. "Now, slash!"

"Solosis, _hidden power_!" Niko shouted. Unfortunately, Solosis didn't hear Niko, and Beartic was closing in quickly on her, with its claws now glowing bright white. Beartic slashed down on Solosis, breaking the ice around and under her. It lifted up its claw to reveal a defeated Solosis, lying unconscious in the broken ice.

"Solosis is unable to battle, Beartic is the winner! Niko will now send out his third and final Pokémon!" Warren stated, throwing a hand up in Brycen's direction.

"Solosis, return. I don't know what happened there, but we'll figure it out soon enough." Niko said. "Litwick, let's go!"

"Niko, swagger confuses the opponent." Brycen instructed. "Your Solosis wasn't listening to you because it couldn't. It was too focused on Beartic, and had difficulty hearing or seeing anything else. Anyway, Beartic use brine!"

"Litwick, block it with flame burst!" Niko commanded. The Candle Pokémon spit out a ball of fire that, upon contact with the brine, burst open, turning the water into vapor. "Now, will-o-wisp!"

"Block it with icicle crash!" Brycen commanded. As if it were throwing knives, Beartic threw out a series of icicles, each of which successfully hit the small blue flames. Litwick, however, was more agile than either Brycen or Beartic had expected, and was already using will-o-wisp once again. "Brine!" He shouted. This time the water blew past the blue flames and successfully hit Litwick, knocking her backwards. Litwick rolled through the air before regaining her composure and using hex on Niko's command. This was again blocked by icicle crash.

Frustrated, Niko tried to think of a better strategy while Litwick and Beartic blocked one another's attacks. Soon enough, he noticed Litwick starting to get tired. It was clear that she wasn't used to exerting so much energy at once.

"Litwick, we have to get closer! Use flame burst on the floor!" He shouted. Litwick nodded, spitting out a fireball at the ground, which created a thin cloud of vapor. Litwick, understanding what Niko was getting at, moved through the cloud just as it was swept away by a brine, carrying her along with it. Litwick crashed into the ground, wet from the brine, and unable to continue battling.

"Litwick is unable to battle, Beartic is the winner! The victory goes to Brycen of Icirrus City!" Warren declared, thrusting an arm towards the former gym leader.

"Well done, Niko." Brycen said as he returned Beartic and slid across the icy battlefield towards his defeated opponent. "I can see that you've certainly earned those six badges. But…I'm noticing a problem here."

"What's that?" Niko wondered.

"You're relying too much on your Pokémon's moves. It sounds silly, I know, but most of our battle—particularly Litwick vs. Beartic—was just us blocking each other's moves. I saw improvement there towards the end, but I was able to see through your strategy and blow it away, so to speak. Pokémon battles are much like chess—you have to think multiple steps ahead if you wish to win. I believe you can do that, as you're already doing so here. So…keep it up!" He said kindly, placing a hand on Niko's shoulder.

"Thanks, Brycen. I really appreciated the chance to battle you, even if it was just a practice match."

"Of course, Niko. Of course. Now, I've got business to attend to in the city, but if I get another chance to see you, update me on your progress. Another battle might be in order." He said with a smirk.

Niko nodded. "Of course, Brycen. You bet!"

Brycen nodded, said farewell to Warren and Charlotte, and ran off in the direction of the exit, leaving the trio alone on the icy battlefield.

"It's weird, not seeing you get a gym badge." Warren said.

"Yeah, I know. But I still learned something, right?"

"Mhmm. Indeed. C'mon, let's go explore the city a little bit." He said. Charlotte and Niko followed him out of the gym.

They had just gotten to the Pokémon Center when they saw police vehicles blaring by the, heading in a northwards direction. Confused, Niko turned to Warren and Charlotte, who both shrugged. Niko instinctively ran inside and hurriedly asked Nurse Joy if he could heal his Pokémon up. Within ten minutes they were feeling better, and soon enough Nurse Joy gave him the pokéballs back.

"What's with the haste?" Warren asked.

"You didn't hear those sirens?" Niko asked. "Something's wrong."

"And we're going to check it out?" Charlotte asked, looking more alarmed than usual. When Niko nodded, she sighed slightly before agreeing to go with her friends. As soon as they exited the Pokémon Center, Niko looked north towards the sky-high tower in the distance.

"I think the action's happening there." Niko said, pointing to the tower.


	31. The value of courage

**Episode 31: The value of courage**

"Niko, where exactly are we going?" Charlotte asked as the three of them walked at a brisk pace through Icirrus City, towards the tower to the north.

"There's something going down there. Shouldn't we check it out?" He asked.

"You're really inconsistent with this whole 'let's stop bad guys' thing, you know?" She snapped back. Niko, who didn't exactly want to hear this, ignored her and kept moving onwards.

They had finally reached the tower—tall, surrounded by water, with several separate pillars connecting to the primary one via suspended bridges. As they approached the entrance—which was in the middle of a massive lake—they noticed police officers fighting with Team Plasma grunts. Towards the entrance they noticed Brycen and his Beartic dealing with a Garbodor.

"Rufflet, let's go!" Niko commanded. "Help Brycen!" He shouted. Warren did the same with Pidove, commanding the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon to use air cutter.

"What are you kids doing here?" An officer asked them, turning abruptly at the sound of their voices. "This is a dangerous situation, get out of here!"

"They're good, Officer Jenny." Brycen said, nodding towards the trio. "They're stronger than you think, that's for sure. Niko, Warren, and Charlotte approached Brycen, who led them into the tower. The ground floor was covered in water, and they quickly found themselves wading through it to get to the staircase that would take them to the top.

"Brycen, where are we?" Niko asked as they began running up a spiral staircase.

"This is Dragonspiral Tower. It's the oldest tower in Unova, and has an…unknown history. It's also the supposed home of Reshiram and Zekrom—the Legendary Pokémon in Unova mythology."

"And Team Plasma wants…"

"…The Light Stone and Dark Stone, which have sealed the Legendary Pokémon. Years ago, Team Plasma attempted—and nearly succeeded—in controlling Reshiram. They never got Zekrom, though. But I think they're back to try it once more. It's our job to stop them."

"And if they get ahold of the stones?" Warren wondered.

"Then we truly have no idea what they could do. Reshiram on its own was incredibly powerful. If Zekrom joined with it, and they somehow got control of Kyurem, then they might be impossible to defeat."

"Kyurem?" Niko asked.

"The third Pokémon in the 'Tao Trio,' Kyurem is said to be an extraterrestrial being. Not much is known about it, though, including its true location. This is due to the fact that no one has ever seen Kyurem in person and lived to tell the tale."

"Would it be possible that Team Plasma is using Reshiram and Zekrom to get to Kyurem, if it's so powerful?" Charlotte asked.

"Actually…yes. Having all three together…would be unprecedented, if my history is correct."

"It is." Charlotte added, eliciting a smile from Brycen. He then stopped abruptly as they faced a trio of Team Plasma Grunts in their way. They looked oddly familiar to Niko, Charlotte, and Warren. Almost immediately, they recognized the grunts as those that they battled in Chargestone Cave, with the aid of Niko's Tynamo.

"You're not getting through, old man." One of them—a female—said. "Lord Ghetsis will finally get possession of the two stones."

"Ghetsis? That man has been in jail! There's no way he's around here!" Brycen snapped back. The three grunts all laughed off his words as if they meant nothing.

"That's what you think. Either way, we've been tasked with dealing with any intruders." She continued, pulling out a pokéball and summoning a Liepard. The two male grunts on either side sent out meerkat-like Pokémon called Watchogs.

" _Watchog, the Lookout Pokémon. Normal type. Using luminescent matter, it makes its eyes and body glow and stuns attacking opponents_."

"Brycen, go on—we can deal with them." Niko said, turning to Rufflet. "Rufflet, aerial ace!"

"Pidove, air cutter!"

"Deerling, double kick!" Charlotte shouted, sending out the Season Pokémon, who trotted up the stairs and spun back around to kick one of the Watchogs in the chest. Brycen, meanwhile, sent out Cryogonal and jumped onto it, floating off of the staircase and around the grunts, who watched in shock.

"See ya." He shouted to the grunts. "And good luck!" He said to the trio before landing and continuing up the staircase. Meanwhile, Rufflet kept hammering at the Liepard, who would attempt to scratch back at him. Fortunately, the Eaglet Pokémon was quicker this time, and would retaliate in kind. Deerling and Pidove, however, were not as successful.

"Watchog, hyper fang!" One of the male grunts shouted. The Lookout Pokémon opened its mouth wide, just as Pidove dove in for an attack, and chomped down on him. Watchog then quickly snapped its head to the right, throwing Pidove off of the staircase and into the water below.

"Pidove!" Warren shouted, pulling out his pokéball to return it. Rufflet, however, was already diving down to get Pidove, grabbing the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon's talon in his own and quickly flying back up, close enough at least for Warren to return it.

"Great job, Rufflet. I'm proud of you, buddy." Niko said with a smile. Rufflet nodded eagerly, fluttering back into the battle as Warren swapped Pidove for Leavanny.

The trio continued to fight with the three grunts until eventually, they managed to defeat them. By this time, Rufflet was exhausted, as were Leavanny and Deerling. Nevertheless, the three humans and three Pokémon rushed past the grunts—who were stunned that they were defeated by these trainers a second time—and made it to the next floor, which was broken in several places.

 _Reminds me of Sky Pillar in Hoenn…_ Niko thought to himself. "Hey, Rufflet, can you keep going? You look tired." Rufflet nodded curtly, turning to see Brycen fighting more grunts. "Use aerial ace to assist Brycen, alright?"

The Eaglet Pokémon did so, charging in to battle and slamming into another Liepard, nearly knocking the both of them off of the suspended platform. Brycen turned to see the trio finding their way over to him. Smiling, he turned back to the battle, calling for his Cryogonal to use aurora beam on a grunt's Krokorok.

While Warren found little issue in getting across the broken floor—split in several places, with nothing below them besides water—Niko and Charlotte both had difficulty initially. "Grab my hand." Warren finally said to Niko, who took a large step forward over the crevice and took his friend's hand. Warren then pulled Niko across with enough force for Niko to fall forwards towards the ground.

Then came Charlotte. Warren also reached his hand out, but she seemed paralyzed; unable to make the jump. The crevice was quite wide, possibly a few feet, and Charlotte was short. So, unlike Niko, she had difficulty imagining herself making it across in a single step.

"Just jump, then." Niko shouted, and he and Warren stepped aside to give her enough room to land.

"I—I don't think I can do that, guys." She said nervously. Deerling nudged her a little, trying to push her forward. "Stop, Deerling!" She snapped, eventually returning the Season Pokémon. "But what if I fall?"

"You won't." Niko said. "We're here to grab you if you don't make it." He reached his hand outwards to show he was serious.

"Fine. Here I go." She said, taking a step back and breaking into a jog before jumping at the ledge. She reached her hand out to grab Niko's, but it slipped, and she found herself falling. She grabbed onto the ledge on the other side with both of her hands. "Help!"

Niko and Warren both kneeled down to grab their friend and successfully pulled her up. Just as they did so, Niko saw Rufflet return to them, as if hearing Charlotte's call.

"She's fine, Rufflet. But thanks." Niko said appreciatively. Rufflet nodded, took a deep breath, and went back in to finish off the Liepard, which opened up the way for the trio—and Brycen—to continue on. They turned to the spiral staircase and continued running up it. "How much further until we get to the Light and Dark Stones?"

"I'll be honest, Niko: I don't know where they are. But if I've learned anything in Pokéwood, it's this: there's _always_ something at the top of the tower."

Niko laughed at the joke just as he heard a scream to his right. Thrusting his head backwards, he briefly saw Charlotte's head before it disappeared under the staircase. Leaning over, he noticed her falling an unknown distance towards the staircase below. Then, a blue of navy blue and white shot down through the hole. Niko, Warren, and Brycen looked in awe as Rufflet slowly carried Charlotte back up to their place on the staircase before dropping onto the ground. While Warren checked on Charlotte to make sure she wasn't suffering any major wounds, Niko's attention was focused on his Pokémon.

"Rufflet!" He said, leaning over. "You can't keep going anymore, buddy. I'm returning you." He said, pulling out Rufflet's pokéball. The Eaglet Pokémon kicked it aside and got right back up without any issues. He then started fluttering in the air, urging Niko and the others to continue. "Are you alright, Charlotte?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Maybe a bruise on my hand, but that's it." She said with a half-smile. "Rufflet, thank you so much."

Rufflet briefly nodded before continuing on.

As they continued going up the staircase, Niko wondered about Rufflet. For whatever reason, he wasn't giving up—or allowing exhaustion to settle in. He always knew Rufflet was the kind of Pokémon to not give up, and he proved that on several occasions. But this time, it was different.

They finally reached the top of the tower. It was sunset, now, and to the west the sun was lowering itself behind the mountains off in the distance. At the top stood Niko, his friends, and Brycen. But, as one might imagine, they weren't alone.

The Shadow Triad, from their encounter at the Nature Preserve, stood to greet them, already in battle poses. On the other side of them was a tall, bearded man in a more elaborate Team Plasma outfit. It resembled more of a suit than a typical grunt's clothing. His hair was blonde and slicked back, with a strand of blue hair wrapping itself from the front towards the back and then to the opposite side of his head. Upon noticing Brycen and the trio, he smirked.

"Ah, I expected some resistance, to be sure, and in the form of a gym leader, of all people. Welcome, Brycen."

"Colress…?" Brycen said in an apparent state of shock. "I thought you left Team Plasma years ago?"

"I did. But I was…persuaded to come back. Yes, Lord Ghetsis convinced me that his work was not yet finished, and needed my assistance. In return, he believed that I would find the answers that I seek to the question of Pokémon dormancy. That is why I was sent here to find the Light and Dark Stones. And, would you look at that…" He smirked, holding two stones, one in each hand. "Brycen, tell me—are you familiar with the history of the Dragon Stones?"

"Not particularly. Why?" He asked, pulling out a pokéball. The Shadow Triad instinctively did the same, ready to battle at any moment.

"It's quite interesting when you take a moment to read up on it. You see, according to legend—"

"The Twin Heroes shared a powerful dragon." Charlotte shouted back, surprised Colress. "They couldn't decide whether to pursue truth or ideals, though, and so the dragon split into Reshiram and Zekrom, and each followed one of the brothers. They were cut from the same dragon, and so they couldn't defeat one another on their own. The sons of the brothers continued to fight over which was more prevalent—truth or ideals, destroying the Unova region before eventually disappearing. Reshiram's and Zekrom's bodies were destroyed in the process, eventually finding their way into the Dragon Stones."

"My my my…who do we have here?" Colress asked, walking over, past the Shadow Triad, to Charlotte. "Allow me to introduce myself, young woman. I am Colress, head researcher for Team Plasma. And…you are?"

"Charlotte." She said curtly.

"Ah, Charlotte. Pleasure. Brycen, I see that you've brought friends. Presumably to stop me?"

"To stop whatever Team Plasma is doing. Ghetsis is a wannabe dictator, and is in jail for his crimes against humanity and Pokémon around the world."

"Well, maybe so." Colress shrugged. "However, I must continue what I set out to do, and if any of you stand in my way then, well, I will eliminate you." He turned to the Shadow Triad, who then sprang into action, summoning three Pawniards into battle. Niko's Rufflet, Warren's Leavanny, and Charlotte's Deerling all leapt into action as well. Niko then noticed Colress moving off towards the opposite end of the roof and into a waiting airship.

"Litwick, let's go! Flame burst!" He shouted, summoning the Candle Pokémon who, upon noticing Team Plasma, froze in her tracks. "What the—?"

"Magnezone, thunder wave." Colress said, thrusting a pokéball from a now empty hand. It hit Litwick, paralyzing her and forcing to the ground. Colress then took a step into the airship just as one of the rotors froze from Brycen's Cryogonal's frost breath. "Blast it. Magnezone, flash cannon!"

While Cryogonal fought Magnezone, Niko worried more about Litwick, who was lying still on the ground. _Magnezone's thunder wave wasn't what initially paralyzed her…_ Niko thought to himself. Trying to block the thought, he turned to Rufflet briefly before running over to Litwick. "You alright bud?" He said, careful to not touch her purple flame, which was smaller now. Litwick nodded, almost looking saddened. Niko returned her just as Rufflet was launched clear across the rooftop, hitting a barrier and collapsing onto the ground. "Rufflet!" He shouted, running over to the Eaglet Pokémon now. Just as he did, he noticed Leavanny and Deerling weren't having much success, either. Neither were Brycen and Cryogonal, who was fighting a losing battle against Magnezone.

Niko attempted to pick Rufflet up, but the Eaglet Pokémon shoved him away with his wing. Confused, Niko watched as Rufflet shot back across the rooftop, low to the ground, and slammed into Pawniard with aerial ace. He watched Rufflet take more slashes before landing a fury attack this time. Then, Niko's eyes widened as he saw feather shoot up into the air. Rufflet was hit by a night slash from the lead Pawniard, and launched back towards Niko at enough speed to break the barrier protecting them from falling off of Dragonspiral Tower.

However, it broke.

Niko felt himself falling, falling towards the water below. He briefly heard screams from his friends and Brycen as he held onto Rufflet for dear life.

"Rufflet…I'm proud of you, buddy." He said, a tear in his eye. "And I'm proud to call myself your trainer."

Then, both of them were engulfed in a bright white light, and Niko soon found his arm in the grip of a massive talon. Looking up, he noticed a large, avian Pokémon with dark red feathers on its back and dark blue feathers on its underside carrying him upwards. Its legs were long and thick with yellow feet that each have a digit facing backwards, and were now clamped down on his right arm.

The eagle-like Pokémon looked down at Niko with a smirk, and Niko noticed it's long, thick beak with a blue cere. On either side of the cere were its eyes, which were black with small white pupils. Sprouting from above the eyes were three large, white feathers. At the base of the feathers was a red, three-pointed design that spread across all three feathers. Behind the feathers on its head was a large plume of white feathers, similar to Rufflet's, and extended most of the way down its neck.

It cawed loudly as it flapped its long, powerful wings and shot up towards the top of Dragonspiral Tower, dropping Niko onto the ground and moving backwards before slicing through the air with its large wings. The Shadow Triad and the Pawniards were knocked off of their feet from the impact of the attack, giving Niko's new Pokémon the opportunity to dive down and slash past all three Pawniards with aerial ace. This time, the white tendrils were wider and longer, emitting a sense of increased power.

" _Braviary, the Valiant Pokémon. Normal and flying type. For the sake of its friends, this brave warrior of the sky will not stop battling, even if injured_."

"Braviary…" Niko said in awe. "And that move was…air cutter?"

"Niko! We have more important things!" Brycen shouted, snapping Niko out of his trance. Just as Niko noticed what was going on around him, Colress' airship was already off, leaving the Shadow Triad behind. However, it wasn't for long, as the three ninja-esque fighters returned their Pawniards and disappeared into thin air.

"You."

"Have."

"Lost." Each one of them said before disappearing, leaving Niko, his friends, and Brycen alone with their Pokémon.

Braviary then returned to the ground, perching himself on an unbroken barrier near Niko, watching as Leavanny fixed up Deerling and Cryogonal. Meanwhile, the trainers all gathered together. Charlotte ran up to hug Niko.

"Thank goodness you're safe. I was so worried." She said. Niko returned the hug briefly before letting go, turning to Brycen.

"I'm sorry…" Niko said.

"Why are you apologizing? You almost _died_! We'll find them, though. I'm going to report this all to the authorities, and they can deal with it from there. You three, though, need to get some rest. Especially your Braviary, Niko."

"Oh, right." Niko turned to his Pokémon. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Braviary smugly nodded, smirking a little as he did so. This elicited a laugh from the others as they all walked back down—carefully, this time—to the bottom of Dragonspiral Tower, and then down the hill towards Icirrus City. Along the way, Charlotte and Warren were marveling at Braviary, who was now returned to his pokéball on Niko's stern orders.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Niko sat in a booth with his friends as they ate. They had said their farewells to Brycen, who was off to the Icirrus City Police Department to relay the events of the past few hours. He assured the trio that they didn't need to participate in any investigations, and if necessary wouldn't have difficulty finding them, which concerned all three of them.

While waiting for their Pokémon to heal, they considered where to go next. "So, if there is no gym in Icirrus City, where should we head next?" Warren finally asked after putting down a sandwich.

"I'd say Opelucid City." Charlotte replied, pulling out her book and opening to two pages with a map of the region. She then pointed to a north-central city in Unova. "That's Opelucid City. It's just east of where we are. Should probably take a week or a week and a half to get there." She said.

"Alright, it's settled then—Opelucid City it is." Niko said, feeling a little better. He had a lot swimming around in his head, but hardly any of it was negative. He no longer felt like he regretted going on a journey again.


	32. Warren and Poliwag

**Episode 32: Warren and Poliwag**

The day after their battle with Colress and Team Plasma at Dragonspiral Tower, Niko and his friends continued their journey, this time towards Opelucid City in the east. There, Niko would finally challenge the gym leader for his seventh badge. He didn't yet know who the gym leader was, nor what their type specialty was. All he knew was that he needed to train. A lot.

During the first couple of days, he spent time with his full team of Pokémon out in the fields just north of Icirrus City, in a place called the Moor of Icirrus. These were flatlands littered with several ponds and lakes in varying sizes. However, since it was the middle of winter, the lakes were frozen over and incredibly slippery, which made navigating through them far more difficulty than Niko and his friends originally thought. At one point in particular, Niko nearly face-planted into the ground, but was caught by Warren at the last moment.

"Alright guys, that battle against Brycen wasn't an official gym battle, but it was helpful. We need to focus on not just raw attacking, but also on how we move in the battle. How we attack, defend, and evade. And also how we can use the environment around us. So until we get to Opelucid City, that's what we'll be working on." Niko explained to his six Pokémon. "Servine, it's pretty cold out today, and I'd rather you not get sick again, so I want you to sit this one out. Litwick, can you put a fire together please?"

The Candle Pokémon nodded, shooting a quick flame burst at a small mound of sticks that Charlotte had put together, quickly igniting it. Servine, unhappy at her trainer's command, slowly walked over to where Charlotte was and sat down in the snow next to her, huffing a little out of anger.

"Niko's just looking out for you, Servine." Charlotte said plainly. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. We don't want you to get sick again, right?" Servine nodded, not looking at either Charlotte nor Niko.

"Alright, let's continue." Niko said, outlining his plans for their training. He started off with the basics—notably, Fay's evasion exercise. Since most of his team consisted of floating—or flying—Pokémon, Niko had them quickly move back and forth in midair.

After that, he paired them up—Tynamo sat this one out and watched—and had them practice moves against one another, with their opponent attempting to dodge the move if possible. Litwick and Braviary had the most success in doing this, although the former wasn't able to defend from the aerial ace that slammed into her, sending her into a thick layer of snow off in the distance. Solosis and Boldore, by contrast, had difficulty initially. Solosis wasn't able to block Boldore's smack down with her psychic powers, and so nearly gave up out of frustration. It wasn't until Niko explained that she didn't have to always use psywave—or her natural abilities—to win a fight. She could use rollout, for example, to evade the move before spinning back around to hit Boldore that way. Or, he thought on the spot, Solosis could have used hidden power to block the smack down. Lastly, she could have just simply moved to the side.

"You'll get it, though! We just need to keep practicing, alright?" Niko said, patting the Cell Pokémon's gelatinous surface. Solosis nodded before getting back into her makeshift battle with Boldore. Niko then walked over to Tynamo. "You feeling alright?" He asked. The EleFish Pokémon nodded. "That's the problem with having an odd number of Pokémon. I didn't want Servine to accidentally overexert herself and get sick. Plus, you're oddly fast for a Pokémon like yourself, right?" Tynamo nodded, turning his head to view Niko. "You're going to kick ass one day, Tynamo. I just know it."

Meanwhile, Warren was chronicling their adventure at Dragonspiral Tower while Charlotte was reading up on the environment of the Moor of Icirrus while Servine—understandably frustrated—watched her teammates train and Smeargle air-painted. They continued this for another hour or so until Niko walked back over to their small campsite with his Pokémon.

"How'd it go?" Warren asked, looking up from his booklet.

"Good, I think. We're on the right path, right guys?" He asked his team. All five of them cheered. Noticing Servine looking away from Niko, Braviary and Boldore walked over to her and sat on each side, poking her lightly. "Guys…stop." He said.

"They're just having fun, Niko." Warren piped in. He was right—Servine was smirking a little at Braviary's attempt to cheer her up.

Later, they were sitting around their campfire, all of their Pokémon eating something that Niko and Warren put together. It had been a long day of walking and training for them, but they had made it towards the edge of the Moor of Icirrus, and it was still very cold. All three of the humans were bundled up in several layers of clothing, and Charlotte in particular still felt cold.

"How's Sydney doing?" Niko finally asked Warren. He hadn't seen Warren make many calls back to Castelia City.

"She's doing fine, from our last call." Warren said in a friendly tone. He looked up at Niko and smiled. "Just working for the most part. And she is very excited for you."

"Oh I'm sure you didn't hesitate to tell her about my gym badges." Niko said jokingly.

"No, no I didn't! She said she's planning a trip to come to the Unova League when you've gotten all eight badges. Which…will be soon, by the looks of it!"

"The Unova League is in Vertress City usually, which is far to the north east, at least from here." Charlotte interjected.

"I'll tell Sydney that when we get to Opelucid City, then." Warren replied. "I didn't know that."

"How long have you two been together?" Charlotte asked.

"Me and Sydney? Err…a couple years now. We met at Castelia University. Before I left on this journey, we had talked about moving in together, but it just never really happened, obviously. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity." Charlotte said.

"What about you, then?" Warren said, leaning closer to the fire. "Are you in a relationship with anyone?"

"Nope." Charlotte replied curtly. "Never been in one, really. And never had an interest in one."

"Why not?" Niko asked.

"Well, I don't know. Guess I just lost interest. As a kid it was never a big part of my life—romance, that is. And when it finally was I just…the feelings I had for someone wasn't reciprocated."

"Oh. You'll find someone one day." Warren said. "I believe that there's someone for everyone."

"Indeed." Niko said, although he had difficulty believing that himself.

"What about you, Niko?" Warren asked, turning to his former roommate. "Ever been in a relationship?"

"Yeah, earlier this year, before I came to Castelia City." He said, briefly looking at Charlotte before turning to Warren.

"Oh? What was her name?"

"Lauren. We were together for less than a year, or so."

"How'd you meet?" Warren asked.

"Err…I was on a trip to another city in Kanto, and we just met there and hit it off pretty easily." Niko said. This was all an obvious lie, and only Charlotte knew it was. Niko quickly gazed into his periphery to see her silently eating.

"So…what happened to you two?"

"It just wasn't working out. It's a long story."

"Is that part of the reason you came to Castelia City?"

"Part of it, yeah. Small part, for sure. I just needed a new start, y'know?"

"I know." Warren said.

* * *

The following morning, Niko continued training with his Pokémon. This time, Warren's Pokémon joined in. Niko and Warren had a practice battle, one-on-one. Niko chose solosis, and Warren chose Leavanny.

"Come on, Leavanny, let's go." Warren said, turning to the tall Nurturing Pokémon sitting in between Pidove and Poliwag. Leavanny happily got up, leaving her teammates on the broken log they were sitting on. Just then, Warren briefly noticed Poliwag's frown, but didn't do much about it. "Leavanny, use slash!"

"Solosis, rollout!" Niko commanded. The Cell Pokémon charged forward, rolling through the air towards her opponent. Leavanny shifted to the side and landed her leaf-hand on Solosis' back, launching her into the snow. "Use hidden power!"

Solosis spun around to face Leavanny, summoning half a dozen orange orbs. She threw them, one after another, at the Nurturing Pokémon, who used razor leaf to shield herself, much in the same way that Servine used leaf tornado defensively. It managed to halt the attack, but when Solosis was through with hidden power, she used psywave to launched Leavanny backwards before breaking into a rollout.

"Leavanny, razor leaf!" Warren commanded.

"Keep going, Solosis!" Niko shouted, watching his Cell Pokémon make a mad dash towards her opponent. She finally collided with Leavanny, knocking the both of them into the snow. "Hidden power!"

Solosis, up close, conjured another round of orange orbs and threw them at Leavanny. Small bursts of fire erupted as they hit Leavanny, leaving the Nurturing Pokémon unable to battle.

"Great job, Solosis!" Niko shouted, running over to embrace the small Cell Pokémon.

"You did great, Leavanny." Warren said, walking over to help his own Pokémon back up. Just as he did, he noticed only Pidove was sitting on the log. "Hmm? Charlotte? Where's Poliwag?"

Charlotte, who had been reading for much of her friend's practice battle, looked up and turned to where Warren was pointing. "Oh…oh no." She said, suddenly looking worried. "Warren, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. Poliwag probably went back into his pokéball, or something." He said, walking over to pick up his pokéball on the ground. It was empty. "Okay…maybe he went to get some berries, or something. But he doesn't have a mouth or limbs…what the hell?"

"Is everything alright?" Niko asked, Solosis at his side.

"Poliwag's missing." Warren said, suddenly looking very worried. "Poliwag!" He shouted. Leavanny did the same, crying out for her teammate. "Poliwag!"

"Let's split up, then. Braviary, can you go in that direction?" Niko asked, pointing in a northwards direction. The Valiant Pokémon nodded, flying off with Solosis right behind him. Warren did the same with Pidove, only this time to the south.

"I'll go with you, Warren." Charlotte said as she gathered up her things. She and Warren then went to the east while Niko watched the camp for them.

* * *

"Poliwag!" Warren continued to shout. Charlotte and Deerling were by his side as he kept yelling out his Pokémon's name. They had been walking for several minutes without finding a single sing of the Tadpole Pokémon.

"Hey, Warren." Charlotte asked, looking up at her companion. When the worried Warren turned to her, she continued speaking. "How did you and Poliwag meet?"

"How'd we meet?" Charlotte nodded. "Well, I've always been a huge fan of Poliwag, ever since I was a kid. I don't know why—just was. They're fascinating creatures. And so one day, a few years ago, I was on a trip to Liberty Island with some friends, and on the shore of the island I found a small, injured Poliwag. We took him to the local Pokémon Center, got him fixed up—his tail was twisted at the tip—and as my friends and I were about to board a ship back to Castelia City, the Poliwag followed me. We thought that maybe he thought I was his father, or something, since it was clear he didn't have parents anywhere nearby. And so I brought it back to the dormitory I was staying in at the time, and took care of him for some time. It wasn't until I met Sydney that I actually thought about officially capturing it—Poliwag never seemed too interested in pokéballs anyway. And, well, that's really it."

"Do you know where Poliwag came from originally?"

"Nope. We think that maybe he got hurt at sea and somehow ended up on the shore of Liberty Island. Or maybe there used to be a colony of them there. We don't really know, but I think it was the latter, since Poliwags aren't ocean creatures, I don't think."

"Sydney sounds like a lovely person, too." Charlotte said, this time with a grin.

"Yeah, she really is. I'd be a completely different person without her." He turned to Charlotte. "And I hope you find someone that thinks of you the same way, too. Same with Niko."

Charlotte didn't respond to this other than with a curt nod. They continued walking for some time before seeing something small and blue slam into a tree nearby. Immediately recognizing it, Warren dashed off towards the tree, with Charlotte and Deerling following behind.

There, at the base of the tree, lay a defeated, half-conscious Poliwag. Off to their right were two unfamiliar Pokémon. On the left was an amphibious Pokémon, similar to Poliwag, but with an ovoid body, limbs, and a long tongue. It also had four wide, black and grey bumps along its head. Charlotte's pokédex recognized it as a Palpitoad—the Vibration Pokémon that was water and ground type.

Next to the Palpitoad was an even more bizarre Pokémon. It was a flat fish-like Pokémon with a broad, mud-brown body and a yellow tail on its back end. Their pokédex identified it as a Stunfisk—the Trap Pokémon was that ground and electric type.

"Poliwag, are you alright?" Warren asked. The Tadpole Pokémon slowly opened his eyes to see Warren kneeling at his side, looking down at him. Poliwag nodded before trying to get back up. "No no, you're hurt. Let's take you back."

Just as Warren said this, the Palpitoad opened its mouth wide and launched a ball of mud directly at him. Poliwag, seeing this, leapt forward to take the hit, ultimately slamming back into Warren and knocking both of them into the snow.

"Deerling, double kick!" Charlotte commanded. The Season Pokémon dashed forward, spinning around and kicking Palpitoad with his back feet.

"Poliwag, what happened?" Warren asked. "Did I do something wrong? Did I upset you? And why are these Pokémon attacking you?"

Warren never really got the last question answered, but after more thought he realized how much he was neglecting Poliwag recently. "I—you're mad at me because I used Leavanny to train with, right?"

Poliwag nodded.

"Are you jealous that Leavanny and Pidove get more attention than you?"

Once more, Poliwag nodded.

"Well, don't. You're my first Pokémon, Poliwag. Did you know that, ever since I was a kid, I loved Poliwags?" The Tadpole Pokémon shook his head. "Well, I have. It's the truth—you can ask Charlotte! And when we met, I was thrilled to finally meet one, and then to own one for myself. You're my first Pokémon, and you will _always_ be my favorite. Never forget that." Warren then picked Poliwag up and hugged him, just as he felt another mud shot from Palpitoad hit him in the back. "Alright, you want to take care of these bullies with me? Unless, of course, you're too injured to fight." He said sympathetically.

Instead, Poliwag nodded. Seeing his Pokémon's determination, Warren nodded as well, putting Poliwag back on the ground, just as the Stunfisk was charging up some sort of electrical attack.

"Poliwag, hypnosis on Palpitoad!" He shouted, just as Charlotte commanded Deerling to use leech seed on the Vibration Pokémon. Both attacks hit successfully, but Poliwag was struck by a thundershock from Stunfisk. "Poliwag, don't give up buddy. We can win this!" Warren shouted. As he did, the Tadpole Pokémon began to glow. "Oh…oh my."

"Poliwag's evolving!" Charlotte said excitedly. She was right—Poliwag began to grow taller and wider. He also grew arms, longer legs, and white gloves hands. His eyes now protruded from his body and rested on top of his head. A black and white swirl covered his belly.

" _Poliwhirl, the Tadpole Pokémon. Water type. The spiral pattern on its belly subtly undulates. Staring at it gradually causes drowsiness_."

"Alright!" Warren shouted, throwing a fist into the air. "You and me, Poliwhirl! Let's go! Use water gun on Stunfisk!"

"Deerling, double kick on Palpitoad!" Charlotte commanded. Both Pokémon attacked, knocking out the still unconscious Palpitoad and forcing the Stunfisk to flee the scene.

Warren breathed a deep sigh of relief as he looked back down at Poliwhirl. "You kicked ass, buddy. I'm really proud of you." He turned to Charlotte, who gave him and Poliwhirl a quick side-hug. "And thanks for helping us out, too."

"No problem, Warren. Happy to help!"

* * *

"Guys!" Niko shouted, just as Braviary, Solosis, and Pidove returned. "You're…back…?" His statement quickly turned into a question as he noticed Poliwhirl walking beside Warren. "I take it your found Poliwag?"

"Nope! Poli _whirl_." Warren said, winking. "Yeah, we found him. He somehow got into a tussle with a Stunfisk and Palpitoad, and so Charlotte, Deerling, and I helped him put them in their place. In the middle of it, Poliwag evolved!"

"That's exciting, man." Niko said. "Now, let's get going. We might be able to make it out of the Moor of Icirrus by the afternoon!"

"You've got that right. Ready, Poliwhirl?" Warren asked.

"Poli!" Poliwhirl shouted happily, rejoicing with Leavanny and Pidove over his new evolution and strength.

Within minutes Niko, Warren, and Charlotte were packed up and ready to continue their journey towards Opelucid City. The problems, however, would not yet abate. There were still issues they had yet to face before their next destination.


	33. Growing pains!

**Episode 33: Growing pains!**

The trio's trip to Opelucid City took them out of the Moor of Icirrus and onto route which wasn't much different to them. It was still snowing, and the land was still littered with frozen puddles and lakes, all scattered around the valley in a random fashion.

Along the way, Niko continued his training for his upcoming gym battle in Opelucid City. Still unsure of what type he would be facing, Niko decided to focus more on strategy and evasion, and less on offense. For the most part, his Pokémon were getting better at this. During their practice sessions, each of his six Pokémon were able to evade most of their teammate's moves. The exception here was Solosis, though.

Niko realized quickly that the Cell Pokémon was having difficulty shifting her body around to dodge a variety of attacks. This was odd to him, since Solosis—of all of his Pokémon—would have the easiest time, particularly because she could use her psychic abilities to shift herself away. However, as far as these training sessions were concerned, Solosis wasn't doing as well as either she or Niko wanted her to.

After a couple hours of training, Niko sat down on a rock near their camp and stared into the fire that Litwick and Smeargle lit. Taking a deep breath, he turned to see his Pokémon eating dinner. It had been a long day, and they deserved to have a break.

"How're you?" Charlotte asked, looking up from her book on the Unova region. "Feeling alright?"

"Oh, of course I am. It's just…Solosis…" Niko said, eying the Cell Pokémon. "Something's been up with her lately. Not quite sure what it is, though."

"Maybe she's feeling sick?" Warren suggested. "Servine dealt with it, too. Maybe Solosis is coming down with something, but would prefer to power through it, especially since you've got a big gym battle coming up?"

"It's possible. I didn't think of it from that perspective. Thanks, Warren." Niko said. He eyed Solosis once more, trying to notice any sign of weakness. It wasn't that Solosis was slow—she was plenty fast. But she wasn't using her powers to their full potential. But, Niko thought, it's possible she might be ill. He'd wait until the following day to better understand the problem.

Over the next couple of days, Niko continued training with his team, and each time he failed to notice a problem with Solosis. For whatever reason, her psychic abilities seemed to be dampening, and it caused her to slow down. Occasionally, Niko noticed her wince on occasion, as if she was feeling a pain of some sort.

"Solosis…are you alright?" Niko said just after a particularly difficult training session. Solosis looked up at Niko and nodded, albeit with difficulty. "Let's get you something to eat, then. Will that make it feel better?"

Solosis nodded, and the two sat down on a broken log and rested for a bit, both watching the others practice against one another.

"What's been up with you, recently?" Niko asked, turning to Solosis. "You've seemed off lately. And now, you're in pain."

As soon as he finished answering, Niko suddenly saw a flood of images cross over into his mind. They were a variety of random, scattered, unrelated things, shapes, landscapes, and people. Unlike when Niko first caught Solosis, nothing here made any sense.

"I just saw a bunch of random images, Solosis. What are you trying to tell me?" He continued. Solosis tried again, this time straining herself a little. And once again, Niko just saw scattered, irrelevant pictures in his head. "Okay, something's definitely wrong with you right now. Let's have you rest up—no training for a day or two, alright?"

Solosis nodded, albeit hesitantly. Niko, seeming satisfied with his choice, got back up to help Warren and Charlotte with their dinner.

That evening, Niko was discussing his issues with Solosis, in particular explaining the random images he saw. Both Charlotte and Warren didn't know what to say at first. Eventually, they both piped in.

"It's possible Solosis is simply losing control of her psychic powers. Maybe it's a thing that species goes through?" Warren said. "None of us have ever owned a psychic Pokémon before, could it possibly be that this is a normal thing for them?"

Niko, who _has_ owned a psychic Pokémon, shook his head. "Don't think so. That's the problem, though! I have no idea what she could be going through. And it seems like even she doesn't know—she seemed surprised that I couldn't understand what she was conveying to me." Niko put his hand in his long, messy hair and pulled it up a little in frustration. "Charlotte, does your book say anything about Solosis?"

Charlotte pulled her book out and flipped through it before shaking her head. "Doesn't look like it. It isn't really a pokédex, though. This book shows me where Solosis are commonly found…and it's just where you ended up catching one: on route 4."

"Alright, thanks. I need to think more about this." Niko said, placing his chin on his hand and staring into the fire, watching the flames move wildly and randomly about.

* * *

The next day, the trio finally crossed through route 8 and reached the next part of their destination—Tubeline Bridge. Like the Driftveil Bridge, this one connected western Unova to Central Unova where Opelucid, Nimbasa, and Castelia City were located. However, unlike the Driftveil Bridge, this one was wider and uncolored, leaving the gray-silver color of steel instead of the red hue that characterized the bridge south of it.

"This is also a railway…which you might like, Warren." Charlotte said as they stopped at the edge of the bridge before crossing. Niko wanted to get some training done first.

"Oh, really?" Warren said excitedly.

"Yeah, maybe we'll see one on our way." Charlotte added with a smirk this time.

Meanwhile, Niko continued with his training. As usual, only Solosis was having difficulties. However, unlike the previous few days, she wasn't feeling as much pain. At least, she wasn't showing it.

"Hmm…Solosis seems to be doing better, Niko." Warren added.

"She is…I don't understand this."

"Could have just been a headache or something. I can imagine for psychic types a headache is far more difficult to deal with." Charlotte suggested.

"That's true. Solosis, you feeling better?" Niko asked. The Cell Pokémon turned to Niko and nodded before using a rollout on Braviary, who skillfully managed to evade and use the momentum from it to land a successful air cutter. "Great job!" Niko shouted proudly.

Just as he said so, a loud sound came from the other end of the road they had just traveled. Turning, Niko saw three motorcycles riding towards the bridge. As they got closer, Niko recognized them.

"Hey, guys…" Niko said as they were within sight. Warren and Charlotte both looked towards the bridge.

"They're from the Performance Festival!" Charlotte shouted, pointing at them. This seemed to catch their attention, for as soon as they reached the end of route 8, they stopped.

"You." The one in the middle said, pointing to Niko. "You're that kid from a couple months ago, right?"

"Maybe. How do you reckon?" Niko asked, trying to imitate the biker's twangy accent.

"That Solosis of yours." He said, pointing to the Cell Pokémon. "I see it hasn't gotten much stronger since we last met."

"Wanna bet on that?" Niko asked, turning to Solosis.

"Oh, course I do. Boys, I'll take this one." He said, getting off of his bike. "Name's Charles, in case you forgot." He said with a smirk. "One on one battle, whaddya say?"

"Sure. Solosis." Niko said, beckoning his psychic type over. The rest of Niko's team moved over to the sidelines where Warren and Charlotte were. Servine in particular wasn't happy, having been sidelined for most of Niko's battles since getting sick.

In return, Charles threw out a pokéball, this time containing an unfamiliar Pokémon to Niko. It was buffalo-like with a large, dark afro on its head. Two large, curving horns, each with two golden growths resembling rings, protruded from the afro. It had shaggy brown hide that ended at its knees and didn't cover its face.

" _Bouffalant, the Bash Buffalo Pokémon. Normal type. They are known to charge so wildly that if a train were to enter their territory, they would send it flying_."

"We can do this, right Solosis?" Niko asked. Solosis nodded. When she turned away from Niko, the Cell Pokémon took a deep breath, as if trying to gather up courage to fight. "Use psywave!"

Solosis attempted to use her psychic abilities, but nothing was happening. Instead, she cried out in pain. Unsure of what to do, Niko stood completely still as Bouffalant rammed into his Pokémon with a move called head charge, launching her into a rock fifty feet away.

"Solo—Solosis, use hidden power!" Niko said in a slight state of panic. Solosis nodded, slowly conjuring half of a dozen orange orbs to launch at Bouffalant, who seemed to block them with another head charge, this time breaking the rock behind Solosis and knocking her into the snow behind it. "Solosis!"

"What happened? I thought you beat me with this Pokémon…" Charles said, both excited and confused. "Bouffalant, megahorn!"

"Niko, no!" Charlotte shouted. "Don't let Solosis get hit with that move!"

It was too late; Bouffalant charged into Solosis, who had just gotten off of the ground, and flung the Cell Pokémon high into the air. As soon as Solosis was closing in on the ground, Bouffalant used a horn attack and sent her hurtling towards a tree trunk. Solosis fell face-first into the ground, defeated.

"Looks like I win. Hm." Charles said. "Let's go, guys. Off to Opelucid City." Charles said, returning his Bouffalant and mounting his bike once more, leaving Niko and his friends in the dust.

Niko rushed over to grab Solosis, who was unconscious at this point. He was more confused and sad than angry. "What happened…? Why is she acting like this?"

"Don't know…" Warren said. "C'mon, let's get her fixed up." He said, turning to Leavanny and Litwick, who helped make some string to wrap the Cell Pokémon up and some tea to calm her down.

* * *

Later that evening, Solosis was feeling much better, as evidenced by her playing games with Litwick and Tynamo. Niko, on the surface, was perfectly happy with this. But he was nonetheless concerned. Fortunately for his friends, Charlotte managed to see through it.

"Niko, do you want to talk about anything?" She asked her friend. Looking up from their campfire, Niko smiled and shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. But…what the hell is happening to Solosis? As soon as I commanded her to use psywave, she immediately felt pain. But with hidden power…it was different."

"So…maybe it's just her psychic powers that are out of whack." Warren deduced. "But why is that?"

"It's possible that she might be growing, actually." Charlotte proposed. Niko and Warren both turned their heads at this revelation. "Yeah, maybe it's like when we grow, we feel aching in our legs and back, right? Solosis might be going through a similar process right now."

"And that makes a lot of sense!" Warren. "Considering Solosis is the _Cell Pokémon_ , maybe her cells are trying to split or something, like ours do? It's called mitosis, I think."

"Right. Solosis is going through mitosis right now, Niko." Charlotte explained. "Only, because she is a psychic type, and the cells in her body are more in tune with those abilities, it could be giving her really incredible migraines, just like our legs ache a lot when we grow."

"You two are geniuses." Niko said with a smile. "I love you guys." He said, eliciting smiles from both Warren and Charlotte.

* * *

The following day, the trio took off across Tubeline Bridge. From there, Opelucid City was only a couple of days away. The entire time, Niko was thinking about his conversation the previous evening with his friends. Solosis was going through some sort of natural process that is affecting her ability to use psychic moves. If that was the case, then couldn't Solosis just not use psychic attacks until she completed this process?

Niko didn't have to wait long to answer his question, for as they crossed the bridge he, Warren, and Charlotte saw three familiar faces standing on the other end: Charles and his biker gang.

"Oh, would ya look at this, boys." Charles said with a smirk. "Back for a rematch?"

"No, on our way to Opelucid City. But, if you insist…" Niko said, pulling out a pokéball from his pocket.

"Niko, you sure?" Charlotte asked.

"Yep. Warren, can you judge?"

"Of course." He said, standing in between Charles and Niko as the two trainers created distance from one another.

"Bouffalant, I choose you!" Charles shouted, summoning once again the Bash Buffalo Pokémon.

"Solosis, you're up!" Niko called out, also summoning his Pokémon from their previous engagement. This time, Solosis was wearing a bandage around her eye, courtesy of Warren's Leavanny. "You think you can handle this, buddy?" Niko asked. Like with before, Solosis nodded before hesitating. Could she do it? "Use rollout!"

"Megahorn!" Charles commanded. Solosis broke into a roll through the air, dashing towards her opponent, whose horns were glowing a bright green color. Noticing this, Solosis veered to the side, catching part of her bandage on Bouffalant's horn, using the thrust the buffalo was giving to the attack to sling herself around the back of her opponent's head and launch herself to the side. Niko, thoroughly impressed, suddenly got fired up about the fight.

"Hidden power!" Niko commanded.

"Head charge!" Charles shouted out. Solosis, also feeling fired up, conjured half of a dozen orange orbs and threw them at Bouffalant as it began to charge towards her. Small eruptions of fire lit up on Bouffalant's afro as it continued to charge relentlessly towards its opponent, ultimately hitting Solosis and launching her backwards into a tree.

Niko heard a loud cry as Solosis collided with the tree behind her. Suddenly, images swam into his head like a strong current, flooding his mind. Trying to process them, Niko took a moment to understand. Some of those images…there were gaps in them.

 _That's why they seemed so odd!_ Niko shouted to himself. _They weren't full images! Sure, they were completely random, but they are real, and some of them are incomplete! Solosis!_ He screamed into his mind. _I get it now! I get it!_

Suddenly, Solosis began to glow a bright white color, enveloping the edge of the forest that they were in. Bouffalant took a step back as the light was blinding it as well.

Solosis doubled in size, for starters. Inside of her gelatinous surface, she grew out of her small, spherical body into a pale green creature with a large head, stubby arms, and a body that tapered to a point at the bottom. Her eyes were once more ovular, and she retained her diamond-shaped mouth. Her gelatinous surface now bore small, round bumps on the lower sides of her body and over her head. In the bump atop her head, a small, circular piece of matter floated above, suspended in the gel.

" _Duosion, the Mitosis Pokémon. Psychic type. When their two divided brains think the same thoughts, their psychic power is maximized_." Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Charlotte, you really were right!" Niko shouted, eliciting a smile from his friend. "Duosion! Let's go! Use—okay, you can use that." Niko said as he watched Duosion attack with something very unfamiliar to him.

Duosion crouched her body together as three thick masses of light blue, blue, and purple energy forms around the front of her body. She then fired off each energy mass at Bouffalant, who was pushed backwards. Duosion then rose higher into the air and broke into a rollout, striking Bouffalant quicker than the Bash Buffalo could react, dragging it through the snow underneath them.

"Niko, that was psyshock." Charlotte added in a quieter tone. Niko nodded, indicating that he heard her. Once Duosion was finished with rollout, she turned to Niko and nodded.

"Duosion, finish it off with psyshock!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. Duosion repeated her first attack, summoning three orbs of energy and firing them off, one after another, at Bouffalant, who in the aftermath of the resulting explosion collapsed onto its side in defeat.

Charles and his gang, all in astonishment, turned to Niko and his friends. "Wow…" He said in shock. "Well done, kid."

"Thanks." Niko said, a little smugly. "But you should be praising Duosion, here. Right, buddy?" Niko said, patting the gelatinous surface of his Mitosis Pokémon. "Good battle, though." He said. "I've never seen that Pokémon before."

"Yeah, it's kinda new, Bouffalant is." Charles said, returning his Pokémon. "This was its first real battle, so I thought I'd give it a test drive, y'know?"

"Totally understand. Anyway, thanks for the battle." Niko said, holding out his hand. Charles, hesitantly, shook it. "Hope to battle you again someday."

"Any day, kid. Any day." Charles said. He then turned to his biker friends. "Alright boys, off to Opelucid City!"

Waving farewell to the biker gang Niko, Duosion, Warren, and Charlotte continued on their own journey to Opelucid City. Only a couple of days now separated Niko from his seventh Unova League gym battle.


	34. Past meets present

**Episode 34: Past meets present**

"Hey, Niko." Warren asked as they were walking along route 9 one day. "What did you do before coming to Unova? You may have told me once, but I swear I forgot."

"I, err…I was going to go to school, but it just didn't work out. I wanted to find something else to do with my life." Niko said in a blatant lie.

This journey was started on Warren's insistence that Niko attempt to be a Pokémon trainer. Warren never knew Niko's past—that he used to be a Pokémon trainer bent on being the best; that he has travelled the world for years, catching and training nearly two dozen different kinds of Pokémon; that he quit and gave up everything he had earned over one loss; that he missed his father's funeral, abandoned his friends, family, and Pokémon in the most cowardly way possible.

Niko often thought about how Warren would react to this. He told Charlotte, and only when he felt like he had to. Unexpectedly, she accepted it for what it was, and understood Niko's perspective. But, what if Warren was different? Would he feel the same way, especially after lobbying so hard to get Niko to try to become a trainer? Would he feel betrayed by one of his close friends? Or would he, like Charlotte, accept this for what it was and help Niko move past it?

He had no idea. And he kept thinking of ways that he could tell Warren. The action of it was simple—all it took was just one statement to get the ball rolling on revealing his past. But while it seemed easy, for Niko it was a difficult thing to do. He couldn't quite explain it; it takes courage to admit your faults, or to admit anything that is uncomfortable. So, when Niko thought of ways he could admit this to his friend, he kept finding himself at a loss. If he was being honest with himself, Niko was partially hoping for a trigger—some sort of spark—to force him to open up, just like he did with Charlotte.

That moment would come on route 9, when they were close to Opelucid City.

It was an ordinary morning. Niko was out training with his full team of Pokémon, once more in preparation for their upcoming gym battle. Overall, his Pokémon seemed to be doing quite well with their training. Now that Duosion was feeling better upon her evolution from Solosis, all of Niko's Pokémon were able to train to their fullest potential. This satisfied their trainer, who was secretly worried about the next gym. He knew nothing about it—evidently, neither did Warren or Charlotte. This was usual for Niko, though, and he accepted it as it was.

Charlotte was petting Deerling and watching Warren cook something while their friend was off in the thin snow, uttering commands to each of his Pokémon.

"Niko's gotten much more impressive lately." Warren said. "Have you noticed that?"

"Impressive in what way?"

"Well, he seems more confident. Almost like he knows what he's doing."

"Is that a bad thing?" Charlotte asked, genuinely curious.

"No! Not at all. But…for a first-time trainer, it seems almost odd. He seems almost _too_ comfortable with it."

"Maybe it's in his nature?"

"That's possible." Warren said, looking down at the small pan he was cooking on (they only had a limited number of utensils to use, which forced them to get creative with their cooking on occasion).

As soon as everyone sat down to eat before continuing their journey, Braviary turned his head to the south, as if hearing something. Curious, Niko turned as well. Seeing nothing, he got back to eating. But then Boldore—whose sense of hearing was the best on Niko's team—also turned to the south.

"What's up guys?" Niko asked, petting Braviary and Boldore. They both turned to him, and suddenly he saw images being transferred to him through Duosion. "You guys heard something…and it sounds dangerous?"

They nodded.

"Well, then maybe we should finish up here and keep going as soon as possible. If it's coming from the south, we shouldn't run into it, right?" Warren suggested. Niko and Charlotte both nodded in agreement, and continued to eat.

Once they finished, they packed up their things and were prepared to leave when they heard yet another sound. This time Niko certainly heard it; a tree crashed in the distance.

"It's probably some Pokémon or something. If we don't interfere with it, then it won't interfere with us, right?"

"Generally speaking, yeah." Warren said. "Either way, let's keep going."

As soon as Niko took a step, the sound got louder—and closer. Turning his head, he saw a tree trunk break down roughly fifty yards from them. In its wake was a Haxorus. Only it was a "normal"-colored Haxorus, with yellow skin instead of the black one they saw at the Nature Preserve.

"Are Haxorus native to this area…?" Niko asked, turning to Charlotte.

"They live in the mountains, I think. But…Niko, that Haxorus is caught." She said, pointing towards a man standing next to the Axe Jaw Pokémon. Niko turned to see what she was referring to. And he wish he hadn't.

Standing next to the Haxorus, towering over the powerful dragon Pokémon was a man. He had slicked-back black hair, wore all black clothing—shirt, pants, boots, and a black leather overcoat—and was now sporting a partial beard that looked more kept-together than Niko's untrimmed facial hair.

It was Hunter. Standing directly in front of Niko.

"Is that…?" Hunter asked, squinting a little as he began to walk towards the group. "No, there's no way. What are the chances that I would see _you_ , of all people, out here in Unova?"

"I—I don't know what you're talking about, sir." Niko said, trying to disguise his voice and looking away, careful to not meet Hunter's gaze. Soon enough, his old rival was within feet of him, staring down at Niko with his black pupils.

"Oh, you do. You look different—like you've been homeless for months. Not the angry little trainer I met back in Hearthome City anymore. But probably just as pathetic."

"Listen, punk." Niko said, staring Hunter in the eyes this time. "I don't know who you are, or what you want. So please leave me alone."

"Niko…do you know this guy?" Warren asked. Niko shot him an angry glare just as Hunter began to cackle.

"Niko! Yes, that's your name!" Hunter shouted. "I see you've got a new posse, then? No little girlfriend to defend you anymore? No bumbling 'Pokémon breeder' this time? Oh, and tell me, Niko: how's Rampardos doing nowadays? Still weak and useless?"

Niko felt the anger swell in him again, just like it used to a year prior. His chest felt heavy; he could feel heat coursing through his veins. It was a painful, yet oddly satisfying feeling.

"Niko, do you know—?"

"SHUT. UP. WARREN!" Niko shouted back. Suddenly, Warren and Charlotte went silent. Turning back to Hunter, Niko grabbed the taller man's collar. "Leave. Me. _Alone_."

"Oh, sure. I will. But it seems like your friends don't know what we're talking about. Looks like you've got a lot of catching up to do with them." He looked down and noticed a couple pokéballs sitting along Niko's belt. "Oh, you're still collecting Pokémon? Are they any better than the ones I fought back in the Lily of the Valley Conference? Remember that battle, Niko? Toxicroak thinks of it often."

"Stop. Talking." Niko said in a low, but demanding, tone.

"Are you taking on the gym challenge in Unova? Then you must be going to battle Drayden. I'm sure you'll do fine. Maybe you'll do better against him than you did against me. Wait, how many of my Pokémon did you defeat in our full battle? One? Couldn't have been more than two. I didn't even get to use my full team."

"WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH!?" Niko screamed.

"Oh, I don't hate you, Niko. Hate's such a strong word. No, I think you're pathetic. And you're stupid for continuing on with your journey, especially given that it almost killed one of your Pokémon."

"That was all your doing…" Niko said, almost growling.

"Well yeah, but if you were stronger it wouldn't have happened, I'm sure. Again, I don't hate you, but I sure do get a kick out of pissing you off." He turned to Charlotte. "Is this your new girl? Will she stand up for you like that purple-haired freak did? Doubt it…children aren't worth anything."

"I'm not a child, thank you." Charlotte said, looking angry as well.

"Well Niko, I'll let you go now. I hope Drayden doesn't hurt you as badly as I did. I don't want to have to fight for my title. It's too much work."

He was about to turn when Niko, out of pure anger, whipped out a pokéball and summoned Servine. "LEAF BLADE!"

"Haxorus, dragon tail." Hunter said without turning around. Servine flew through the air, hoping to land her glowing green tail on Haxorus' back. However, she felt a rough-skinned tail slam into her from the side, launching her across the field they were in at a speed that Niko had never seen before. "You might want to check on that Servine of yours—hopefully she isn't in critical condition like Rampardos was."

Angry, sad, frustrated, Niko dashed towards Servine, who was lying nearly a hundred feet away in the snow. "Servine…are you alright?"

The Grass Snake Pokémon weakly nodded before losing consciousness. Niko began to shed tears, returning Servine to her pokéball and sitting there in the snow, silently weeping.

* * *

A unique feature of route 9 was that, somewhere down the road, a shopping mall stood, acting primarily as a rest stop for trainers on their way to Opelucid City. It was called Shopping Mall Nine, and that's where Niko took Servine to get healed up.

Niko wanted to be alone in the hours after his surprise encounter with Hunter. It suddenly brought back all of the memories he had tried to repress from the year before starting his journey. While he waited in the Pokémon Center, trying to soak in everything, Warren and Charlotte were touring the mall to give their friend some space.

Warren was, understandably, the most confused one of the three. "Charlotte, do you know what he was talking about at all? This…whatever he was."

"I don't believe so." Charlotte said in an obvious lie. She knew that if Warren were to find out about his friend, then it would have to come from Niko himself, and no one else. So she continued to play dumb. "Do you think he was telling the truth?"

"About what? Everything's so confusing!" Warren said. "There's no way Niko was a trainer! He's never competed in any gym battles, and Snivy was his first Pokémon!"

"Hmm…" Charlotte said, unsure of what to say next. She felt uncomfortable in this position—stuck between knowing the truth and wanting to know how Warren felt about all of this. "Let's just get him something, like a snack, and go back to the Pokémon Center."

"Sounds good to me." Warren replied. The two of them bought a pretzel, one for each of them, and were walking back towards the Pokémon Center when they noticed Niko sitting at a table outside, clearly looking at nothing in particular. "Hey, buddy…how's Servine doing?" Warren asked as he handed Niko a pretzel.

"Fine. She didn't sustain any injuries." Niko said, putting the pretzel aside. He wasn't hungry.

"So…uh…do you want to talk about anything?" Warren asked. "You know you can tell us what's bothering you, Niko. We won't judge you."

"I know you won't." Niko said calmly and cordially. "It's just…it's not something I want to admit. And, well, I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Warren asked.

"Afraid of how you'd react when I told you I've been lying to you this entire time." Niko finally said, a little louder than he normally would. "Look, Warren. I appreciate all of the enthusiasm you've shown in making me a trainer, but I have to tell you that…I've been one for a long time now. About four and a half years now."

"What…?" Warren asked, thoroughly confused.

"Let me explain." Niko said. And he did. He went through everything he told Charlotte back in Anville Town. He explained where he came from; his placings in four Pokémon Leagues; his battle with Hunter that resulted in Rampardos' injury; Battle Island; his rematch against Palmer; Lauren; his father's death; and his reasons for leaving Pallet Town for Unova.

The entire time, Warren was uncharacteristically silent.

"And so, I came to Unova on a whim. I took the next boat departing from Vermillion City, and it just so happened to be Castelia City. I'd never really heard of Unova, other than a few minor details, but I decided to wing it and go there. When I landed, I needed to find a place to stay. I looked in ads, and after a day or two found yours. That's how we met—by pure chance. And I don't regret it for a moment, Warren. Because, out of everyone that I've ever met in my life, you've managed to get me off of my ass. I've gone through some tough times, and I've given up on occasion. But when I was at my lowest point—this past summer and early fall—you single-handedly picked me back up without even knowing it. You, and then Snivy, and then Charlotte, and then Rufflet. I've enjoyed this journey more than I thought I would have. I've met Pokémon that I never imagined meeting. They're my friends now. We've been through so much now, and it's because of you. So…if you are mad, or angry with me because I lied, then I understand, and I accept it. But I've realized that you have as much of a right to know as anyone."

Warren simply got out of his chair, leaned over, and hugged Niko for a long moment before letting go and sitting back down.

"Don't be sorry." He simply said, in the same tone Charlotte used when she first responded to Niko. "You're my friend, and always will be. Your past—all of that—it's in the past. And you're a better person because you've gone through that, even if you caused most of it. But the Niko I know today is a great, caring trainer who is going to win the Unova League. I'm more convinced of it now than I was an hour ago, because not only do you have a strong team behind you here, you've also got a bunch back in Pallet town."

" _Did_. I did have a bunch back there. I don't know if they're still there or not." Niko admitted.

"They probably are. I'd bet on it." Warren said in his usually optimistic tone. "And…this Hunter guy. That's who we saw today?" Niko nodded. "Wow. What a piece of crap he is."

"Yeah, he's terrible. But I wonder if maybe he's right?"

"About what? Nothing! Pfft, who cares if he beat you once, twice, or even several times! He won't next time, though!"

"You're sure about this?" Niko asked.

"Yeah, I remember watching Niko's battle against him. That's actually where I remember seeing Niko before I met him in person. Hunter's Toxicroak is something else, Warren."

"Doesn't matter. Niko will beat it. Full stop." Warren said, leaning back. "And you're going to prove that to yourself when you beat this Drayden guy in Opelucid City. I promise you that."

"Whatever you say, Warren." Niko said with a wry smile. "Thanks for having my back."

"I always will, Niko. And so will Charlotte. And so will your Pokémon."

Niko nodded, feeling much better now that everything was out in the open. There were no more secrets to keep. And, as it turned out, Warren and Charlotte both felt lighter as well. Charlotte because she no longer had anything to pretend to not know, and Warren because he felt like he completely understood his friend and former roommate a little bit better now.

* * *

 **Author's note: Everyone's favorite rival is back in Unova! A little late, to be sure, and he doesn't show up much in general, but Hunter is definitely back! Will he play a larger role in this season than he has in previous ones?**


	35. The Spartan Mayor

**Episode 35: The Spartan Mayor**

After over a week of travelling, Niko and his friends finally arrived at Opelucid City. The city itself looked oddly futuristic, with the buildings taking on a technological, even business-like appearance. Niko and his friends walked in to the city, immediately making their way to the Pokémon Center to find a place to rest up and stay during their time there. If everything went as planned—and Niko defeated Drayden, the gym leader of the city—then they would be there a single night, and be off towards wherever the final Pokémon gym in Unova was.

That night, Niko thought about the events since his last gym battle, back in Mistralton City against Skyla. His team looked different then. He didn't have Litwick, and Rufflet and Solosis had evolved. Whatever type Drayden used, he was sure to be prepared for it. Niko looked over to see Servine, Braviary, Boldore, Duosion, Tynamo, and Litwick all sleeping peacefully. Smiling, Niko then went to sleep, thinking about what else he could do to prepare for the gym battle.

The following morning, Niko was the first awake. After returning his Pokémon and creeping out of their room, he went to the practice battlefield to do some last-minute training.

An hour into it, Niko saw Warren and Charlotte walk out onto the battlefield as well, just as Braviary dodged an attack from Servine before launching an attack of his own. For several minutes they just stood there and watched.

"Yeah, he's back." Warren said.

"Was he ever gone?"

"Not really, but he was pretty down the other day. That's all I'm saying. Think he has a chance at winning?"

"He always does. My book didn't say anything about the specialty of this gym, for whatever reason. But it's safe to say that Niko has most types covered with his team, so he'll have an advantage regardless."

"That's true. Hey, Niko!" Warren said, beckoning his friend over. "When're we going to the gym today?"

"In a little bit, if you all are fine with that." Niko suggested. When Warren gave him a thumbs up, he continued on.

After eating, Niko and his friends went in search of the Opelucid City Gym. As it turned out, the gym was in the northwestern part of the city, on the outskirts. And while the city was more modern and refined, the Opelucid Gym was the opposite.

It was a brick structure that resembled a circus tent, only without the colors and flair to go along with it. Instead, it was pointed at all edges, and two dragon heads—one white, and one black—stood on each side of the entrance. In the middle was the traditional Pokémon League symbol: a pokéball.

"So…dragon type." Niko said as they looked at the exterior of the gym. "This gym is dragon type."

"Is that a problem? Your Pokémon are plenty strong!"

"Dragons are something else, Warren." Niko said, turning to his friend. "I've never done well against dragons, even when I have an advantage." He said, tacitly referencing his battles against Clair, Fay, and most recently Palmer.

"Well, you will this time for sure!" Warren said optimistically, patting Niko on the back. "Let's go!"

When they approached the gym, the entrance was wide open, only leading to a darkened tunnel. Confused, Niko led the way inside, watching various torches being lit along the way, as if there was some sort of pressure plate or sensor that was lighting them as he walked through. Ultimately, they reached a large room with a battlefield in the center. Torches lit the room all around it, with flood lights at the top to add to the glow. In the front, back, and sides of the room were more statues of dragon heads.

Niko looked out in amazement as he eyed each one. It had been a long time since he was in a dragon-type gym. As he marveled at the battlefield around him, he heard someone walk in from the other end of the field. It was tall, gray-haired man in a rolled-up white dress shirt with navy blue overalls that had golden spikes on the shoulder pieces. He wore his hair slicked to the side, and had navy blue gloves on.

"Afternoon." He said in a deep voice. "I'm Drayden, the gym leader for Opelucid City. And…you are?"

"Niko from Pallet Town." Niko said proudly. "I'm here for a gym battle."

"Of course. As it happens, I'm free today. How does a four-on-four Pokémon battle sound to you?"

"Just fine."

"Very well, then." Drayden snapped his fingers, which produced a louder sound than Niko expected. Suddenly, a referee ran down the same stairs Drayden had just moments before, and got into position at the middle of the battlefield. "We begin whenever you're ready."

"I'm ready now." Niko said, pulling out a pokéball. He knew who he wanted to use first.

"Good. Druddigon, I choose you!" Drayden shouted, summoning his first Pokémon. It was unfamiliar to Niko. Druddigon was a large, blue dragon Pokémon with medium-sized wings that were the shape of thistle-leaves. It had a bright red head, and red spikes running along its tail. Its belly was an olive color. Most noticeably was its stance—it's arms were longer than its legs, which gave it a hunchback impression. "Your turn."

"Litwick, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Will-o-wisp!"

"Druddigon, crunch." Drayden commanded. The Cave Pokémon charged forward, taking the will-o-wisp as if it didn't seem to care, ultimately landing its attack on Litwick. Druddigon bit down _hard_ into Litwick's waxy body, ultimately flinging her behind it. "Now, dragon tail!" Druddigon's tail began to glow bright purple as it took flight to strike at the falling Litwick.

"Hex!" Niko shouted, noticing the burn mark on Druddigon's face. Litwick quickly conjured a black and blue sphere and launched it upwards at an angle. It impact with Druddigon's tail, creating an explosion that was forceful enough to launch the Cave Pokémon upwards. "Now, hex again!"

"Rock slide!" Drayden commanded, his hands still in his pockets. Druddigon summoned a downwards moving wave of rocks in varying sizes, which Litwick barely made it out of due to hex being strong enough to strike Druddigon directly in the chest, minimizing the damage done. "Dragon tail once more!"

"Litwick, hex!" Niko shouted. He tried not to continuously order the same move—it was sort of lame, in his mind—but he hardly had a choice. Plus, hex was stronger due to Druddigon's burn. Nevertheless, Druddigon finally landed a move, crashing down onto Litwick just as she launched a hex, sending the Cave Pokémon across the field before crumpling to the ground as well. "Can you get back up, buddy?"

Litwick tried to, taking her time to gather up enough energy. Eventually, though, she couldn't, and collapsed back onto the ground in front of Drayden, while Druddigon got back up in front of Niko.

"Litwick is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Litwick, return." Niko said, pulling out a pokéball. "You did great, buddy. We'll work harder next time. Braviary, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his Valiant Pokémon. "Let's start off with aerial ace!"

Braviary rose high into the air before diving down at Druddigon, who had returned to Drayden's side of the field, waiting for his next opponent. Drayden commanded it to use rock slide, and it did once Braviary was close enough. However, due to Niko's training, Braviary was able to weave through the dozens of rocks hurtling down towards him, eventually hitting Druddigon in the chest and dragging it across the remainder of the field.

"Air cutter!" Niko shouted. Braviary backed away for a moment and slashed his wings forward, slamming Druddigon with a series of "x" shaped blades from the tips of his wings. Druddigon collapsed to one knee, wincing from the attack. "Hone claws!" Niko commanded. Braviary scratched at the ground with his talons, sharpening them while Druddigon got back to its feet. "Now, aerial ace!"

Braviary charged forward, slamming into Druddigon and dragging it past Drayden and into the stairwell that he came from, swooping back into the air with his defeated opponent laying there.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Braviary is the winner! Leader Drayden will now send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Druddigon, return. Altaria, I choose you!" Drayden called out, summoning a familiar Pokémon to Niko.

"Altaria…Niko probably knows what that Pokémon is like." Warren said, remembering that his friend has traveled more extensively than he used to know. "Go Niko!"

"Braviary, be careful…Altaria aren't what they seem." Niko said cautiously. Braviary nodded. "Now, use aerial ace!"

"Altaria, fire blast!" Drayden commanded. Altaria opened its mouth and belted out a five-pointed flame at Braviary, who dodged the move before diving towards his new opponent. When the Valiant Pokémon was closing in, Drayden called out once more. "Cotton guard!" Altaria opened its wings wide and then covered its face with them, buffering against the impact of Braviary's attack. "Now, dragon pulse!"

Now, Altaria opened its wings again, revealing its face once more. It unleashed a powerful purple beam of energy that hit Braviary directly in the face, knocking him backwards through the air before he crashed into the ground. Drayden then finally asked Altaria to use fire blast, which managed to hit Braviary directly in the chest, leaving a rather large burn mark.

"Aerial ace!" Niko said, albeit hesitantly. He knew Braviary had more in him, but he didn't like having to go all out like this, especially if it seriously injured his Pokémon. Nevertheless, Braviary slammed into Altaria, who deflected once more with cotton guard before repeating the dragon pulse. _It's like nothing changed…_ Niko thought to himself, frustrated that he didn't seem to learn the lesson Brycen taught to him. And now Braviary was on the verge on defeat. "Keep it up!" He said. "Use air cutter this time!"

"Altaria, block it with fire blast!" Drayden shouted. Altaria obliged, belting out another fire attack that seemed to disintegrate Braviary's light blue air-blades. "Now, dragon pulse!"

"Aerial ace!" Niko shouted. He realized that if Braviary was going to go down, he might as well try to bring Altaria with him. The Valiant Pokémon and the Humming Pokémon collided just as the latter used dragon pulse, repelling the former and sending him into the ground once more.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Altaria is the winner! Challenger Niko will send out his third Pokémon!"

"Braviary, return. You did great. I'm really proud of you. Boldore, I choose you!"

"Hmm…interesting choice, Niko. Altaria, sing!"

"Boldore, smack down!" Niko commanded, just as Altaria began to belt out a sweet, soothing melody. The attack landed successfully, with the golden orb associated with smack down hitting Altaria in the wing, slamming her into the ground forcefully. "Now, rock…slide…?" Niko said hesitantly as he noticed Boldore had fallen asleep. "Alright, fair enough." He said, trying to think of something else. After shouting at his Pokémon a few times, the Ore Pokémon finally woke up, turning his head to each side before realizing Niko was the one responsible.

"Altaria, dragon pulse!" Drayden commanded for the second time. The first one had successfully hit Boldore while he was asleep, and the second was about to when Boldore blocked it with a smack down. "Sing!"

"Boldore, rock slide!" Niko shouted. Just as the Ore Pokémon managed to pelt a grounded Altaria with an avalanche of rocks, he fell victim once more to his opponent's beautiful singing voice. Fortunately for him and Niko, Altaria was defeated by the final rock slide.

"Altaria is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Drayden will now use his third Pokémon!"

Niko noticed Drayden fiddling around with Altaria's pokéball, as if deep in thought. It was clear he was trying to think of some new strategy. Smirking under his gray beard, he pulled out a third pokéball.

"Flygon, I choose you!" Drayden commanded. Out of his third pokéball was another familiar Pokémon to Niko—and one he quite admired. "Use earth power!"

"Oh…no…" Niko said as the ground under Boldore forcefully shook, ultimately launching the sleeping Ore Pokémon into the air, forcing him to land on the ground in defeat.

"Geez…one shot…" Warren said. "Think Niko's fought one of these before?"

"Probably, yeah." Charlotte said. "They're native to Hoenn anyway. And…it wasn't necessarily a one-shot attack, since Altaria did damage as well."

"Right, of course." Warren said, watching his friend withdraw Boldore in exchange for his final Pokémon. "He's got Duosion, Tynamo, and Servine left…"

"Servine!" Niko commanded, throwing out the pokéball containing his first Unova Pokémon. "Use leaf tornado!"

"Earth power!" Drayden commanded.

"Wait for it, Servine…" Niko said cautiously. "We've dealt with this before, right? Now…jump!" Servine leapt into the air just as the earth power struck underneath her. "Now, leaf blade!"

Servine landed back on the ground post-earth power, and dashed towards Flygon with a speed Niko hardly recognized. It was clear to him that she missed battling…a lot. The Grass Snake leapt through the air, somersaulting before landing a glowing green tail on Flygon's head, and with enough force to crash both of them into the ground.

"Rock slide!" Drayden commanded.

"Leaf blade on the rocks!" Niko shouted. Servine, obliging, aggressively slashed and cut at the rocks hurtling towards her. Just then, Flygon opened its maw and unleashed a dragon pulse that hit Servine in the side of the body, launching her across the battlefield and landing just at Niko's feet. "Hey…c'mon, we can do this. If we beat Flygon, we have only one left. You're strong enough to carry the day here, alright?"

Servine nodded in agreement, flashing Niko a smug smile before turning to face her opponent.

"Now, leaf tornado!" Niko commanded. Servine flipped through the air, shooting a flurry of sharp leaves from her tail at Flygon, who repelled it with dragon pulse. "Leaf blade, and at the air this time!"

"Huh?" Warren and Charlotte said in unison. Servine, equally confused, obliged all the same, flipping through the air while running at Flygon, slashing her tail around. Soon enough, she felt herself moving a bit quicker.

"Now!" Niko shouted. Servine then, using the momentum she created for herself, spun around and slapped Flygon across the face with leaf blade, forcing the Mystic Pokémon into the ground. "Leaf tornado!"

Servine landed on the ground once more before somersaulting and launching a final flurry of leaves at the defeated Flygon, ensuring her victory.

"Flygon is unable to battle, Servine is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Drayden will now use his final Pokémon!"

"Well done, Niko. Dragons are tough to beat, but you've done pleasantly well here. I commend you for that, but I'm afraid your Servine won't last much longer. Haxorus, I choose you!" Drayden shouted, summoning a now familiar dragon Pokémon. The Axe Jaw Pokémon peered down at Servine menacingly. "Use dragon dance!"

Niko froze at the command. _Dragon…dance…?_ He thought to himself. _No…no no._ "Servine, be careful!"

As soon as Servine heard this, Haxorus began to glow bright purple and red, roaring towards the heavens as it did so. Servine, having never heard such a cry before, backed away a little in fear. She turned to Niko for assurance, but he couldn't seem to provide it.

"Haxorus, use x-scissor!" Drayden shouted. The Axe Jaw Pokémon's claws began to glow a bright red as it charged down Servine. The Grass Snake leapt out of the way, fortunately dodging the attack, but it didn't stop her powerful opponent. Haxorus turned towards her again, blood lust in its eyes. "Again!"

"Servine, defensive leaf tornado!" Niko shouted. Servine nodded, bringing up a wall of leaves to protect herself. For the first time, it didn't work. Haxorus ignored the leaves hitting it and slashed at Servine, launching her into the stands behind her. She crumpled to the ground, quickly defeated by Haxorus.

"Servine is unable to battle, Haxorus is the winner! The victory goes to Leader Drayden of the Opelucid City Gym!" The referee declared.

Drayden returned Haxorus to its pokéball while Niko ran to pick Servine up. He looked at her, lying unconscious in his arms.

"I hesitated…and we failed because of it…I'm sorry, Servine." Niko said, just as Warren and Charlotte joined his side.

"Niko." Drayden said, still standing in his spot. "If you wish to earn the Legend Badge, I recommend you go into the mountains just north of here. Train there, and then come back to me. I will rematch you whenever you are ready."

Niko simply nodded, too focused on Servine to do much else.


	36. Seven too many!

**Episode 36: Seven too many!**

Shortly after his defeat at Drayden's hands in the Opelucid Gym, Niko sat in a booth at an Opelucid City restaurant with Warren and Charlotte. He wanted to give the Pokémon that battled with him a chance to rest, especially since the next day they would get back to training.

"Niko…did something happen when Haxorus began attacking?" Warren asked. "I noticed you kind of froze around that time."

"That's because I did."

"Well…why?"

"Because dragon dance is…a terrible move." Niko said, scoffing. When Warren continued to press him on it, Niko looked up and stared into his eyes. "Dragon dance is part of the reason why I forfeited against Palmer, back on Battle Island. It's a move that powers up dragon Pokémon. Powers up all of their moves, and makes them faster. It can make them unstoppable if used long enough."

"And you haven't found a way around it?" Charlotte asked.

"Nope. Not at all."

"Well, take your time before your rematch, then." Warren suggested. "Who knows, maybe you'll discover a way soon enough. Plus, didn't Drayden give you a hint or something?"

"He just said to go to the mountains. That's it though." Niko said, shrugging. "Of course I'll do it, but I don't know what I'll find there."

"Maybe you won't find anything. Maybe it's just his favorite training spot, and he recommends that you go there too. In a way you might be able to emulate his success." Warren said, clearly grasping at straws now. Niko, however, did see it as a plausible explanation. "Also, we're coming with you."

"I didn't think you'd be interested, so I didn't really ask." Niko said plainly.

"Figured as much." Charlotte said with a wry smile. "I'm just interested to see why Drayden suggested the mountains."

That evening, Niko lay down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling above him. He had spent the previous hour or so just being with his friends and Pokémon. Of all of them, Servine was—without a doubt—the most devastated by their loss. It was clear to Niko, and to the rest of them, that she blamed herself for it. Niko made a few attempts to ease her out of those feelings of guilt, and Braviary tried to do the same. However, Servine refused to listen, and would instead curl up on a chair in their rental room in the Pokémon Center, away from everyone else.

After a while all of the Pokémon fell asleep, save for Litwick, who was still floating beside Niko, off of his bed and in the middle of the air.

Niko turned to the Candle Pokémon, who was on the verge of dozing off. "You know ghost types don't usually do well against dragons, right?"

Litwick, seemingly startled by her trainer, turned and nodded.

"Well, you did quite well against that Druddigon, even if you lost. That's the thing about gym battles: they're supposed to be harder than any ordinary battle. If that Druddigon was untrained, or owned by anyone else, you would have beaten it. Keep that in mind."

Litwick, realizing the meaning of Niko's words, nodded with a half-smile.

"If you're disappointed with how well you did, don't worry—you're stronger than you think. I know that to be a fact, Litwick." He said. "Goodnight." Litwick turned out her own flame, and the two quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Niko woke up late the following day (or, at least, later than usual). Gathering up his team of Pokémon he, Warren, and Charlotte journeyed north of the Opelucid Gym, bringing supplies for their trip, just in case they ended up staying there multiple days. Looking out into the small valley beyond Opelucid City, Niko saw empty plains until the base of the mountain range to the north. By empty, he noticed a surprising lack of Pokémon. Confused, he continued on, eventually reaching the mountains by midday.

The trio quickly found a pathway that led up the side of the mountain, through a forest that ran up along it. For nearly an hour, they walked, eventually stopping at the base of a cave to rest and feed their Pokémon.

"So…are we supposed to find anything yet?" Niko asked once they finished eating.

"No idea…Drayden only said to come up here." Charlotte, said, looking out onto the plains below, and then Opelucid City off in the distance. Curious, she pulled out her book on Unova and peered through it for a few minutes. "Oh! This is route 10, actually. It leads to a place called Victory Road."

"Victory Road…?" Niko asked, having sworn he heard the term somewhere before.

"Yeah, it's a training ground for powerful trainers aiming to take on the Pokémon League. I'm surprised you've never heard of it before."

"No, I can't say I really have."

Just as Niko said this, he heard a rumbling come from the cave behind him. Turning, they saw a pair of yellow eyes looking at them from Charlotte's eye-level. Niko was the first to stand up, quickly whipping out a pokéball. Then, from the darkness shot out a blue and red blur, nearly tackling Niko off of the side of the mountain. Fortunately, he was able to evade, but not without a scratch on his arm.

"Ow! What the hell was that?" Niko said, slowly peering over the mountain. In the forest below, sitting on a broken tree, was a Druddigon. Just like Drayden's. "What the…?"

"Oh! Niko!" Charlotte said excitedly. "Druddigon are native to this part of Unova!"

"They…are…?" Niko asked.

"Yes! That must be why Drayden wanted you to come here! To train again wild dragons!"

"Must be where he caught his own Druddigon…" Niko said. "You want to fight me? Am I interrupting your nap time?" He continued, clearly taunting the Cave Pokémon, who flapped its medium-sized wings and floated high into the air, above Niko. It's claws then began to glow a purple color, and it shot down at Niko. "Litwick, I choose you!" He shouted before evading Druddigon's dragon claw attack. "Use will-o-wisp!"

Litwick turned to the side and summoned half a dozen blue fireballs, all of which hit Druddigon in the side, causing it to collapse to the ground, with burns along its side. Druddigon then turned to Litwick and, in a rage, raised its claw and attacked once more.

"Hex!" Niko shouted. Litwick dodged the slash from Druddigon to conjure up a blue and purple orb of energy and hit her opponent with it. Druddigon, faced with the incredible force of the hex, collapsed onto the ground. Smirking, Niko looked at Litwick. "See what I told you? You can handle these things."

Litwick smiled cheerfully, just as the Druddigon was getting back up. Litwick, surprised, used another hex to hit the Cave Pokémon, keeping it down.

"Niko…" Warren said, slowly moving closer to his friend. "You…you should catch it."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! It's a dragon type, it's clearly strong, and what have you got to lose? Maybe Drayden intended for this to happen."

"Well…what do you think, Litwick? Should we let this Pokémon join our team?"

Litwick shrugged, lifting her stubby, waxy hands up in the air. She seemed perfectly content with having simply defeated it.

"But Niko," Charlotte piped in. "You've already got six Pokémon. You wouldn't be able to use Druddigon, right?"

"Right…I didn't even think about that…" Niko said. "This has never happened before." He sat there, thinking for a minute while Druddigon was slowly getting back up. "Alright, I'll do it." He pulled out a spare pokéball from his bag, which was just a few feet away. As he grabbed it, he heard something leapt towards him. Whipping around, Niko threw the pokéball through the air and at Druddigon. The Cave Pokémon went inside, and the pokéball collapsed to the ground. It wiggled around for a few moments before clicking.

"Niko…your arm is bleeding a little." Charlotte said, walking over. Warren then sent out Leavanny to help patch him up while Niko tried to figure out what to do with the caught Druddigon, whose pokéball had shrunk and was a dark, pale red color.

"I wonder if I can just say which Pokémon I want to not use…" He pulled out Duosion's pokéball. "I choose to use Druddigon instead."

Nothing happened.

"Okay…well then." Niko said, finally standing up after Leavanny wrapped up the cut on his arm. "Guess we need to go back to Opelucid and figure this out.

"Yeah, guess so." Warren said. "Should we come back out here afterwards?"

"I…guess so…?" Niko said with a shrug. "I don't really know what to do. All of this is new to me."

Just then, they all heard a rumbling in the woods up the path. Out of it came a two-headed black and purple creature, and just behind it was Elliot, of all people.

"Oh…Niko?" Elliot said, approaching the trio. "What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Niko said. "I'm here to train. What about you?"

"Same. I just spent a week up near Victory Road. Defeated Drayden and then went up there to continue improving. How're you?" He asked, briefly eying Warren and Charlotte.

"Good, going to hopefully get my seventh gym badge. I just caught a Pokémon, as well, but my team is full. Have you ever dealt with this problem?" Niko asked, even though he knew the answer. Even back in Kanto, Elliot already had more than six Pokémon.

"Yeah, you can send it to someone to hold on to. Do you think your family would? Friends?"

"Nope. Neither. Haven't talked to them in months."

"But…your friends…"

"They both know about my travels before Unova." Niko explained.

"Ah. Hi, again." Elliot said, verbally acknowledging Niko's companions. "I'm Elliot. Niko and I go way back. We've had a couple battles before."

"Elliot's defeated me every time." Niko continued.

"Yeah, basically. Anyways, can you think of anyone who might take care of this Pokémon, or anyone you want to switch it out with?" Niko turned to his friends for suggestions. Immediately, Warren piped in.

"Sydney probably could. But I wouldn't give her the Druddigon, if I were you. Might be too rowdy for her apartment."

"You caught a _Druddigon_?" Elliot asked. When Niko nodded, showing him the Pokémon, Elliot's eyes widened. "Well done, Niko. Fay's rubbing off on you, isn't he?"

"Guess so. First dragon type, too." Niko said. "Never even thought about catching one before now."

"Not a bad one to start with. But…they're hard to raise, especially wild ones. At least, according to Fay, who's dealt with them from what I recall. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you with one."

"Yeah…don't think he'll want to talk with me again, though." Niko admitted, looking down at Druddigon's darkened pokéball. "What's that Pokémon you've got there? I've never seen it before."

"Oh, Zweilous. Yeah, remember the last time we battled, and I used that Pokémon called Deino? Well…this is it. Deino evolves into Zweilous." Curious, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Zweilous, the Hostile Pokémon. Dark and dragon type. The two heads do not get along. Whichever head eats more than the other gets to be the leader_."

"Geez, sounds like a lot of management on your end." Niko added.

"Yeah, no kidding." Elliot said, looking away from Zweilous and rolling his eyes. "But this guy has been helpful in just about every match I've been in since he evolved. So, he's more than worth it I think."

"You heading for the Unova League this year?" Niko asked.

"Mhmm. Got six badges right now, heading off to get my last two soon enough. Hopefully we'll see each other there."

"I hope so, too." Niko said. "We're heading down to Opelucid City, so I can figure this Pokémon team out. Are you heading down there too?" Elliot nodded. "Want to join us?"

"I've got other plans in the city, otherwise I would. But thanks for the offer." He said, reaching to shake Niko's hand. Niko returned it just as quickly. It was a firmer handshake than he remembered. _Elliot is growing up, too. I remember when I first met him. He was a little kid…_ Niko thought to himself. Now his rival was just a few inches short of him, and looked more adult-like than ever before. It was slightly disconcerting to him, and made him once more consider the quick passage of time.

"It was nice to see you again, Elliot." Warren said, reaching out his hand. Elliot took it and smiled.

"Nice to see you too, err…"

"Warren."

"Right, Warren. And you?" Elliot turned to their third companion.

"Charlotte." She said, and the two shook hands.

"Of course. Warren and Charlotte. Well, see you later, Niko." The black-haired trainer said as he turned and walked down the path they had recently traveled.

"Interesting kid." Warren commented as they watched Elliot and his Zweilous walk through the forested path.

"Yeah, he definitely is." Niko looked back down at Druddigon's pokéball. "Let's get going, then. I'd like to make it back before sunset." He said, noticing the afternoon sun beginning its descent towards the west.

* * *

" _Druddigon, the Cave Pokémon. Dragon type. It runs through the narrow tunnels formed by Excadrill and Onix. It uses its sharp claws to catch prey_."

"Or Niko." Charlotte said, giggling to herself. She was sitting in the Pokémon Center lounge with Warren, reading up on the newest edition to their growing group. Meanwhile, Niko was off at the video call center. He was making calls to the couple of people that might help him in his new attempt at rotating his team of Pokémon.

He first called Sydney in Castelia City. Initially, she was fine with it, but when Niko mentioned that she might have to take care of Druddigon at one point, she wasn't able to honor the request. "Warren was right, then…" Niko said to himself. Then, out of nowhere came the thought of another person. "Oh damn, how could I forget?" He said as he dialed Professor Juniper.

"Hello?" She said as she answered the call.

"Hi, Professor Juniper? It's Niko. I caught your Snivy a few months back.

"Oh! Hi, Niko! How is everything?"

"Good, for the most part. I actually have a request of you."

"Alright, shoot." She said cheerfully. Niko then explained the situation with Druddigon and having seven Pokémon, and mentioning that he didn't know what to do about it. When he was finished, Juniper smiled. "Well, I could definitely take any of your Pokémon off of your hands, so you can keep this Druddigon on your team. You're suggesting a rotation of some sorts?"

"Yes."

"Then yeah, I can do this for you. I've done it with plenty of trainers before you, and all of them have been relatively successful." Professor Juniper said with a smirk. "Now, which Pokémon would you like for me to hold on to for now?"

"My Duosion, actually." Niko said, pulling out Duosion's pokéball. Juniper nodded, and he quickly and carefully placed the pokéball onto a machine and clicked a couple of buttons. Suddenly, the pokéball disappeared into thin air, and moments later Juniper was holding it. Juniper then sent out Duosion, who looked genuinely confused. "Hey buddy, I'll need you to stay with Professor Juniper for a little bit, alright?" Duosion, who almost looked sad, leaned towards the screen. "It's because I caught a new Pokémon—a new friend for all of us—and I can only keep six Pokémon with me at a time. I wish I could take all of you with me, but that's not how it works. Don't worry, though—I plan to swap all of you out at some point or another, alright?"

Duosion nodded in understanding. "Your Duosion is safe with me, Niko."

"Just make sure she's practicing her moves every day." Niko said with a wink towards the Mitosis Pokémon.

"I will. Best of luck in your endeavors, Niko. Call me whenever you need something in the future."

"Will do. Thanks again, Professor." Niko then ended the video call and got up to meet with Warren and Charlotte. "Well, I swapped Duosion for Druddigon. The seventh Pokémon will be staying with Professor Juniper."

"Good choice, Niko." Charlotte said. "Now, you should probably get some training in today. You have a gym battle to win!"

"That I do, Charlotte." He said, holding his newest Pokémon. He sent out Druddigon. The confused Cave Pokémon looked around before seeing Niko. Rage seemed to fill his eyes, but then Niko patted him on the top of his red-colored head. Niko could feel the rough skin, and wondered how much it could truly withstand. "Hi, Druddigon. My name is Niko. I'm your trainer now. These are my friends, Warren and Charlotte. I caught you because I wanted to learn how to train a dragon. And we're about to face some dragons soon—one of them even looks like you! And I want your help with it. So…are you in?" Niko reached his hand out.

Druddigon lifted his claw and took Niko's hand in his own. Suddenly, Niko felt his palm being cut. Lifting his hand out of Druddigon's, he saw several small cuts along the inside of his hand.

"Druddigon's ability is rough skin, Niko." Charlotte said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah, I got that." He said, laughing a little while looking at his cuts. "No matter, though. We're going to do great things, Druddigon."

For the first time since meeting Niko, Druddigon smiled.


	37. A unique type of Pokémon

**Episode 37: A unique type of Pokémon**

"Everyone, meet Druddigon." Niko said to his other five Pokémon as they all examined the Cave Pokémon curiously. Instinctively, Braviary wanted to attack it, but Niko quickly noticed this and stopped. "He's our new teammate, and will be helping us defeat Drayden. As Litwick knows, he's pretty strong already." Niko turned to the Candle Pokémon with a half-smirk.

The team began to train shortly after that, working for the entire day until each one of them dropped from exhaustion, with the exception of Servine, who was hell-bent on doing better. Niko smirked with satisfaction, watching the Grass Snake continue to practice her leaf blade and leaf tornado moves without any sign of stopping.

"Druddigon." Niko said to the tired dragon type. "Think you could try keeping up with Servine?" The Cave Pokémon glared at Niko briefly before nodding. "Go for it, then."

Druddigon did so, slowly getting back up and continuing with his own moves—dragon claw, dragon tail, chip away, and night slash, according to Charlotte's pokédex. At one point, he slammed dragon tail into the ground with enough force to shatter the field directly under him. Servine noticed this, turned to Druddigon, and smirked as well.

Eventually, Servine and Druddigon got tired enough that Niko called off the training. "I think…I think we're ready…"

"Really?" Warren asked, sounding surprised. "Just after two days?"

"I've had quicker rematches." Niko said, thinking of his rematch with Clair, all the way back in Blackthorn City. There was only a day between his matches then.

"Well, from the looks of it, you should do well. But that Haxorus…" Warren said, looking worried.

"I've got a plan for Haxorus this time. Don't worry." Niko said, slapping Warren on the back and walking into the Pokémon Center alongside Charlotte.

That evening, Niko pondered potential strategies, particularly which Pokémon he was going to use and when. _Druddigon, Altaria, Flygon, and Haxorus…those are Drayden's Pokémon. I can beat Flygon and Druddigon with relative ease, I think. It's Altaria and Haxorus that I'll have the most difficulty with. No, wait…Boldore can beat Altaria. That leaves Haxorus, and only Haxorus. Okay, then…_

He looked over at Servine, who was curled up on a chair next to Tynamo. Litwick was sleeping in the air off to Niko's right, and Braviary was perched on the chair above Servine. Druddigon and Boldore were sleeping soundly on the ground. Niko always appreciated watching his Pokémon sleep peacefully. They had all worked hard to get to this point. It made him feel more confident about his chances against Drayden, and especially in the Unova League.

* * *

"Oh? Back for a rematch?" Drayden said as he noticed Niko, Charlotte, and Warren approach the front entrance. The Gym Leader was outside, cleaning the brick statue of the black dragon on the exterior of the gym.

"Yes, please." Niko said.

"Very well." Drayden said, and Niko could see a smile emit from under his thick, gray beard. "Let's get started, then."

He led them into the gym and onto the battlefield. There Niko and Drayden took their respective places on the field; Warren and Charlotte sat in the stands with their Pokémon; and the referee ran down the stairway behind Drayden to judge the match.

"As with before, this will be a four-on-four gym battle, Niko." Drayden said, pulling out a pokéball. "I hope you're ready this time." He then threw the pokéball out. "Druddigon, let's go!"

"Braviary, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Hone claws!"

"Rock slide!" Drayden commanded, watching at the Cave Pokémon summoned dozens of rocks to fall on its opponent. Braviary, noticing this, halted his own move to evade the rocks, flying backwards, over Niko, to do so. "Crunch!"

"Aerial ace!" Niko called out. Braviary obeyed, diving towards his opponent. White tendrils originated from his beak as he charged at Druddigon, whose mouth was wide open, ready to attack. Braviary crashed into Druddigon, took the crunch attack, but then used air cutter up close to launch Druddigon backwards, across the field, and into the wall behind Drayden. "Aerial ace again!"

Braviary dashed across the field, wings wide open. However, Druddigon was ready. Drayden commanded it to use rock slide on itself. Since Braviary was moving too fast, he didn't have time to react, and ended up slamming into Druddigon just as the two were buried under dozens of rocks. Niko cringed a little. Suddenly, Braviary shot out of the rubble and crashed onto the battlefield, rolling a little before coming to a stop. In his wake was Druddigon, tail glowing bright purple.

"Braviary…can you keep going?" Niko asked. The Valiant Pokémon nodded, ignoring the pain and getting back up. "Use air cutter."

"Druddigon, rock slide!" Drayden commanded. Braviary backed away as he ascended into the air, crossing his wings before opened them and shooting out light blue blades from the tips of his wings at Druddigon, who shielded itself with rock slide. "Crunch!"

Druddigon now took flight to challenge Braviary in the air, charging upwards at his opponent, maw open wide. Braviary dodged the attack and, being more agile in the air than Druddigon, managed to circle around and use aerial ace from behind, pushing the Cave Pokémon into the ground.

"Air cutter again!" Niko shouted. While Druddigon lay on its face, Braviary opened his wings wide once more, emitting small blades of air at his opponent. A cloud of dust erupted as a result. Once the dust dissipated, Druddigon lay there, unable to move.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Braviary is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Drayden will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Druddigon, return. Well done. Flygon, I choose you!" He shouted, clearly switching up his order this time, which threw Niko off slightly. "Rock slide!"

"Braviary, dodge and use aerial ace!" Niko commanded. The Valiant Pokémon turned towards Flygon and shot towards it, moving through the rocks aimed directly at him before colliding with Flygon, and knocking the Mystic Pokémon into the ground below. "Air cutter!"

"Rock slide!" Drayden shouted. Flygon obliged, summoning more rocks from high above, aiming for them to crash down on Braviary. This time, it was successful. Just as Braviary was about to use air cutter, he felt the rocks hitting him, one by one. The rock slide carried Braviary towards the ground. "Now, dragon tail!"

"A purple aura burst on Flygon's tail as it charged at Braviary, slapping the Valiant Pokémon with it, and launching him across the side of the field towards the stands, where he collapsed onto the ground in defeat.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Flygon is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his second Pokémon!"

"Braviary, return. You did good, buddy. Well done. Servine, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his trusty Grass Snake Pokémon. "You ready for this? You're up second."

Servine turned to Niko and nodded. She rarely looked more confident in her abilities. Smirking, Niko commanded her to use leaf blade, to which she obliged, charging at Flygon with ambition in her eyes.

"Flygon, earth power!" Drayden commanded.

"Wait for it, Servine!" Niko shouted while she was running. "And…NOW!"

Servine, just like in the previous battle, leapt into the air just as the earth power struck. She somersaulted and, tail glowing bright green, landed it on Flygon's head, forcing the Mystic Pokémon into the ground below. Niko then commanded Servine to use leaf tornado once more, and this also landed successfully.

"Dragon tail!" Drayden called out. Flygon spun around on the ground, gaining momentum to carry it back into the air, where it struck Servine in the side just as she was descending back to the ground. Servine was launched into the side of the field, just as Braviary before her. She collapsed to the ground, but unlike Braviary she got back up, albeit slowly. She had never taken a hit from Flygon before this—not that she remembered, at least.

"Servine, we can do this. We always can. Use leaf blade!" Niko shouted. Servine got up quickly and ran at Flygon, spinning through the air, using leaf blade aimlessly to gather up enough momentum. Niko smirked—Servine knew exactly what to do this time. However, it also seemed that Drayden did, too. Niko quickly saw him begin to mouth a command and, thinking on his feet, changed his strategy. "Servine, quick to the right!" He shouted, asking his Pokémon to move back towards him. Servine obeyed without question, and ultimately dodged an earth power. However, the shockwave generated from the attack still hit her, and she tripped and rolled across the battlefield before quickly gathering herself once more, getting back to her feet.

"Hmm…good job, Niko." Drayden said with a smirk. "You're learning. Flygon, earth power!"

"And you're not. Servine, leaf blade!" Niko shouted. Servine nodded, once again charging up momentum to eventually strike her opponent, just like last time. However, Niko had something else in mind. Once Servine was close enough, he issued his new command. "Up into the air! Leaf tornado!"

Servine, confused but sure of Niko's judgment, leapt into the air and spun vertically, eventually pointing her tail directly above Flygon and unleashing a powerful torrent of leaves, engulfing the Mystic Pokémon.

"Now, finish it off with leaf blade!" Niko shouted. Servine ended the leaf tornado and, as she was descending, struck Flygon in the back with leaf blade, forcing her opponent into the ground.

"Flygon is unable to battle, Servine is the winner! Leader Drayden will now send out his third Pokémon!"

"Altaria, I choose you!" Drayden said. To this, Niko pulled out his own pokéball.

"Servine, return." He said. "You'll have too much difficulty against Altaria. I want you to save your energy." He then exchanged pokéballs. "Boldore, let's go!"

"Altaria, sing!" Drayden commanded as soon as Boldore entered the field. Boldore, thinking quickly, and with Niko's instruction, used smack down just before falling into a deep slumber. Altaria crashed into the ground at the same time from the smack down. "Now, dragon pulse!"

Boldore took hit after hit from dragon pulse, barely budging. Niko also was silent, biding his time and waiting for Boldore to wake up. He knew the Ore Pokémon could withstand more than this. Plus, Altaria was stuck to the ground—it wasn't going anywhere either.

Sensing—wrongly—that Boldore was on the verge of defeat, Drayden commanded Altaria to use fire blast this time. Getting hit from the five-pointed fireball was enough—for whatever reason—to wake Boldore up this time. The Ore Pokémon then began moving again. Niko immediately commanded Boldore to use smack down, and he obliged, summoning another golden orb and hitting Altaria with it.

"Rock slide!" Niko commanded now. Boldore attacked once again, this time pelting his opponent with rocks. Altaria attempted to block with cotton guard, using her fluffy wings to protect her from the falling rocks. "Smack down again!"

Boldore, having distracted Altaria with rock slide, used another smack down to hit his opponent, knocking it over onto its back. Drayden called for Altaria to use dragon pulse as soon as it got up, to which Boldore retaliated with smack down. Both attacks collided in the middle of the field, resulting in a stalemate. Niko then calmed himself, focusing exclusively on Altaria's movements.

"Boldore, mud slap." He said. The Ore Pokémon obeyed, not quite understanding what Niko was up to here. Nevertheless, he kicked dirt into the air furiously. "Now, smack down!"

The Ore Pokémon obeyed once more, launching a final golden orb through the dirt cloud he created with mud slap, and hit Altaria directly in the chest, nearly knocking it into Drayden. Once it hit the ground, Altaria was unable to move.

"Altaria is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner! Leader Drayden will now use his final Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Wow…Niko might win it this time…" Warren said in surprise. "He's only lost one Pokémon."

"That's because he knows what to expect this time." Charlotte explained. "He wasn't prepared to fight that Haxorus. Now he is, and I think he's trained his Pokémon specifically for that."

"Haxorus, I choose you!" Drayden shouted, summoning the now-familiar Axe Jaw Pokémon. "Use dragon dance!"

"Boldore, smack down!" Niko shouted. Boldore hit Haxorus directly in the chest, which somehow ended the attack. "Keep it up! Don't stop hitting Haxorus!"

"Dragon tail." Drayden said plainly. The Axe Jaw Pokémon charged at Boldore, its tail emitting a purple aura. Haxorus slashed at the smack down attempts, knocking them from side to side before reaching Boldore, spinning around, and slamming its powerful tail into the Ore Pokémon, immediately knocking it to the ground in defeat.

"Boldore is unable to battle, Haxorus is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will use his next Pokémon!"

"Boldore, return. Well done, buddy. Servine, I choose you!" He shouted, re-summoning the Grass Snake Pokémon. Upon seeing Haxorus, Servine's eyes flared up with a rage. Without instruction, she charged at Haxorus. Her tail was glowing bright green, and she spun through the air in an attempt to hit the Axe Jaw Pokémon. Instead, she met Haxorus' blackened claw, since Drayden commanded it to use shadow claw. The attack hit Servine in the side, and slammed her hard into the ground.

"Haxorus, dragon tail!" Drayden shouted. The dragon type's tail started glowing again, and it slammed it into Servine, who was in the process of getting back up, albeit slowly. Servine was then flung across the field, like during her last match with the Axe Jaw Pokémon, and hit the stands directly under Warren and Charlotte. This time, though, she didn't collapse in defeat. She slowly got back up just as Haxorus began to use dragon dance.

"Leaf blade!" Niko commanded. Servine nodded, leaping through the air, slashing leaf blade through the air to gain enough momentum to hit Haxorus. She was successful this time, slapping Haxorus in the right side of the neck. As soon as she did, however, Haxorus slashed at her with shadow claw, bringing her to the ground.

"X-scissor!" Drayden called out. Haxorus leaned downwards, its claws glowing bright red. It slashed at Servine while she was still laying on the ground. Once the attack landed, Servine found it difficult to get back up.

"Servine! We can keep going! Don't give up!" Niko said, worried more for her psyche than her current health. She would physically recover from this battle. But if she lost…it would be hard on her. The Grass Snake did get back up. "Vine whip!" He shouted. Servine, albeit weakly, summoned two green vines from her neck to slap Haxorus, but was once more brought down by an x-scissor, finally defeating her.

"Servine is unable to battle, Haxorus is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his final Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Return." Niko said. _Dammit…not again…_ He said, expressing disappoint in this. First Boldore, then Servine. _Can Druddigon do this…? It's vulnerable to dragon types, but so is Haxorus…_ Niko waited a moment, calming himself down before making his next move. Drayden looked like he was about to say something when Niko whipped out a fourth pokéball. "Druddigon, I choose you!"

To this, Drayden smirked. "So…you did take my advice. Well done, Niko. Haxorus, let's go! Use dragon dance!"

"Not this time! Druddigon, dragon claw!" Niko shouted. _We're not giving them the luxury this time. Not like we did with Palmer, and not like we did with Drayden!_ Niko shouted in his mind. Druddigon, for his part, charged at Haxorus, gliding low to the ground with his medium-sized wings. He then slashed at Haxorus, who blocked with shadow claw.

The two dragons engaged in close combat, slashing and hacking at one another with x-scissor, or shadow claw, or Druddigon's dragon claw. On a couple occasions, Haxorus tried to use dragon dance, but Druddigon—with Niko's help—prevented that.

Eventually, both Pokémon stood mere feet from one another, having exhausted themselves. Neither Pokémon was gaining any ground on one another. Once more, Drayden commanded Haxorus to use dragon dance, to which Niko shouted at Druddigon to use chip away.

The Cave Pokémon charged forward, swerving to the right and slashing at Haxorus from its side. "Now, dragon tail!"

"Dragon tail as well!" Drayden shouted. The two dragons once more collided, their tails hitting one another. Both Druddigon and Haxorus then repelled one another, each flying in opposite directions. Druddigon, remembering his training with Servine, quickly got back up and glided towards Haxorus, his claws glowing bright purple.

Haxorus did the same, its claws glowing a shadowy, inky black color. They collided in the center of the field, crossing past one another and falling to one knee as a result.

For a moment, the entire field was dead silent. No one moved, no one spoke. And all eyes were on Druddigon and Haxorus. Then, after what seemed like forever, Haxorus collapsed to the ground. Druddigon, wincing in pain, stayed up as long as he could. Just as the referee was declaring his victory, he collapsed as well.

"Haxorus is unable to battle…Druddigon is…the winner?" The referee said in response to Druddigon also fainting. "The victory goes to…"

"Niko from Pallet Town." Drayden finished. "Haxorus, return. You did superbly."

Niko, astonished, ran over to Druddigon and, in an attempt to hug his dragon Pokémon, accidentally cut his palm again. "You did great, buddy. I'm very proud of you." He said quietly, returning the Cave Pokémon to his pokéball so that he could rest. He then noticed Drayden, Charlotte, and Warren approach him.

"Pokémon battles are about working with others to meet our challenges together." Drayden said. "Congrats, Niko. I was very impressed with how well you dealt with the challenges I thrust at you. Dragons are by no means easy to defeat, but you've proved that you are able to. Here." He then handed Niko a small silver and black badge in the shape of a dragon's head, with the snout pointing downwards. It could also be construed as a dragon's wing when stretched out. "The Legend Badge, as proof that you've defeated me. You've certainly earned it."

"Thank you for the chance to rematch you, Drayden. I…really appreciate it." He said, staring at the Legend Badge. "I find myself learning more and more about dragons every time I battle against them. And now that I own one myself, I feel like I understand them even more."

"They're a unique type of Pokémon, to be sure. That's good, though. Any great Pokémon trainer should understand the intricacies of each type and species, and be able to deal with them accordingly. You have done that today."

Nodding, Niko thanked Drayden once more before leaving the gym with Warren and Charlotte. They went to celebrate at a restaurant before heading back to the Pokémon Center to rest for the remainder of the day, as well as plan for the next leg of their journey. And, hopefully, the penultimate one, too.


	38. The little EleFish that could!

**Episode 38: The little EleFish that could!**

"One badge to go!" Warren said as he bit into some fish. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well," Charlotte said with a smile, reaching into her bag and pulling out a book. "Let's see…so we're here." She placed the book in the middle of the table and pointed to Opelucid City on the regional map. "Here is Vertress City." She added, pointing northeast of Opelucid. "There are a couple ways to get there, and only one involves going through other cities."

"So…?" Warren wondered.

"So, we could keep going east towards Lacunosa Town…" She added, drawing a line with her finger to another town to the east. "But…I don't know if it has a gym. Let me check…nope." She said, quickly flipping to Lacunosa Town's entry. "Then, if we move south, we hit Undella Town. That definitely doesn't have a gym."

"Why's that?" Niko wondered.

"Undella Town is a resort. There's no way a gym is placed there, since people only go there in the spring and summer, when it's warmer." She then turned back to the map. "That leaves Humilau City, which is north of Undella Town. And…if I'm correct, then that means there is a path from Humilau to Vertress City."

"Sounds good." Niko said, looking at Humilau City. "That'll take a while to get to, I'm sure."

"Absolutely. Lacunosa and Undella Town are far enough away as it is." Charlotte replied. "It'll probably take us a week to get to each of them, by the looks of it. And then to Humilau…geez, probably another couple of days."

"That's fine, though. Gives me time to get some training in. In my experience, the final gym leader is usually the hardest to beat." Niko said, realizing that he was openly talking about his past again. It felt like an odd thing to do, to be sure. But he was nevertheless correct—Giovanni, Clair, Juan, and Volkner were all exceptionally difficult gym leaders. But he was still able to defeat them, and believed that he and his Pokémon would be able to do the same this time, too.

"So…we leave tomorrow, then?" Warren asked.

"Of course. We'll gather up supplies and leave first thing in the morning." Niko said decisively.

Shopping for stuff to take on their journey to Lacunosa Town took longer than they had expected. For one thing, Niko had to find something to feed Druddigon. He had no idea what dragon type Pokémon ate. But after spending more time than he wished to, he found some raw meat that looked like something Druddigon would like. That, in addition to carrots, Lum berries, and a variety of other foods, Niko finally found everything he needed for their trip.

That night, he continued to watch his Pokémon sleep. Druddigon and Servine in particular were exhausted, and needed the rest more than anyone. Since the battle with Drayden, Niko hadn't seen much of Servine, and wondered how she was feeling in the aftermath of her second loss to Drayden's Haxorus. Resolving to deal with it the following day, Niko went to bed.

The path to Lacunosa Town took Niko, Warren, and Charlotte through route 11 and the Village Bridge, and then onto route 12 once they reached the eastern half of Unova. Route 11 was mostly road, with cars driving towards and away from the trio as they walked down it. To their right were several rivers that all split off in multiple directions towards a forested region. To their left was the mountain range that eventually led to Vertress City, and where Niko caught his Druddigon.

For the first couple of days, Niko spent time training with his Pokémon, as he was wont to do. Since they had one final gym battle left, Niko wanted to spend some time learning new moves. With the help of Charlotte and Warren, he identified a few. Braviary was able to learn a move called crush claw; Boldore was set to learn a familiar move to Niko—stealth rock; Duosion—when Niko rotated her back in—would try to learn future sight; and Litwick was going to attempt to learn a powerful fire move called inferno.

Niko tried to find something for Servine, but nothing seemed to fit her style of battling. During those days, Niko noticed Servine was out of it; she lost interest in battling and refused to take part in any related training. As such, Niko respected her wishes and didn't push her to train. Druddigon, for his part, didn't do much training either, but for the opposite reason: he felt quite confident in his abilities. Occasionally he would jump in and work on his night slash or dragon tail, but on the whole he trained less than the others, save for Servine.

Lastly, Tynamo was still working on his electric attacks. Niko noticed that, ever since leaving Mistralton City, Tynamo has felt more alone. On the second evening that they were away, Niko sat down with the EleFish Pokémon.

"How're you doing?" Niko asked, turning to the little eel. Tynamo looked back at Niko and made a small gargling sound. "I take it you're doing alright, then." He said, laughing. Tynamo smiled a little (whatever that looked like). "How is the training going? Do you find yourself using your electricity better now?"

Tynamo thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, much to Niko's despair.

"Well, let's keep at it, then, shall we?" He stood up. "You're doing great, Tynamo. I want you to believe that."

* * *

It was during the following day that Niko and his friends finally reached their first destination—the Village Bridge. Upon seeing it, Charlotte's face lit up with excitement.

"I've heard stories of it before, but never got a chance to see it in person!" She said, putting her hands to her face. "It's…so…beautiful!"

"Yeah, it is." Niko said, admiring the city-bridge.

According to Charlotte, the Village Bridge is over 200 years old, and was constructed after the river beneath it flooded and washed away the houses along its banks. The houses were then rebuilt on top of the bridge to prevent the town from being destroyed again. Occasionally, the bridge will have to separate to allow ships to journey north or south. The houses were situated on both ends of the bridge, for obvious reasons.

As they walked up the west end of the bridge, they saw people walking around without a doubt in the world.

"Can we check out the Village Bridge Restaurant!?" Charlotte asked excitedly.

"Of course. Do you know where it is?" Niko asked curiously.

"Yeah! It's off towards the actual bridge." She said. Once she pointed to it, they heard an alarm go off. Suddenly, everyone that was on the bridge began walking—some running—towards either end of the bridge as it began to separate. Each side rose high up, eventually peaking at a ninety-degree angle and, from a certain angle, blocking the sunlight.

"Well then, guess we don't have much of a choice here." Niko said with a wry smile. Charlotte grinned as well, leading her friends to the restaurant overlooking the south.

They were easily able to find seating in the Village Bridge Restaurant. After sitting down at a window table, the three of them stared out onto the expanse of land to the south. Nothing but forest and rivers, with the occasional small town or village, occupied the space beyond Village Bridge.

"This is a quaint little place…" Warren said, looking around at his surroundings.

"Mhmm. My mom told me to check this place out if we ever got a chance to. It's pretty wonderful, she said." Charlotte looked down at the menu, smiling to herself. She seemed genuinely satisfied, which Niko found charming.

While they were eating, Niko looked up and noticed a small group of hooded men sitting in the far corner of the restaurant, mumbling something to one another. Most of them were wearing odd-looking robes and a tall cap with an "x" mark on them. Some were bearded, and some weren't. Some looked older than others. But there looked to be four of them. Eventually, one of them turned and stared directly at Niko, to which the young trainer looked away towards the window.

"Niko?" Warren asked.

"Hmm? What?"

"You alright?"

"I—uh—of course I am. Just thought I saw someone." Niko said, and instantly regretted it, for Warren then turned around and looked at the small group of weirdly-dressed men.

" _Them_?" He asked Niko, who then put a finger to his mouth.

"Shut up. Maybe they're up to something." Niko said silently.

"Guys…really?" Charlotte said, almost exhaustedly. "Can we just enjoy _one_ nice meal?"

"We usually do." Niko corrected her. "But…if we're on the topic of it, those men look a little sketchy, don't you think?"

"How so?" Warren asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know…something about them just seems off, y'know?" Niko replied, leaning over to get a better look at them.

"Well, stop _staring_." Charlotte said, forcefully pushing Niko back with her small hand and skinny arm. Niko fell back in his seat, sitting there and continuing to wonder what was up with those men.

Niko noticed the group of men as the bridge was lowering back down again, after the trio had finished eating. Once the bridge was safe to walk on, the four strange men began to walk at a brisk pace down the brick-layered bridge. Niko, suddenly becoming his old, crime-solving self, picked up his own pace, extending his steps as he pursued the men. This seemed to irritate Charlotte, who wanted to enjoy the view of the bridge as they walked along it. Warren, at any rate, hardly seemed to care, and followed behind Niko.

"Niko, _slow down_." Charlotte said, eventually sighing when she realized she wouldn't get through to him. _I had to join him, of all people, on a journey…_ She thought to herself.

By the time they reached the end of the bridge, Niko saw the men take a turn down an alleyway. Pulling out a pokéball, Niko summoned Braviary. "Hey, buddy, can you follow those group of men for me?" He asked. The Valiant Pokémon nodded, rising high into the air, above Village Bridge, and flew around. Moments later, Braviary came back, urging Niko to follow him. "Stay here, so we don't attract any unwanted attention."

"Got it." Warren said.

"Alright…" Charlotte said exasperatedly. Once Niko left, Warren turned to her, wondering what was wrong. "I just don't like it when he does this…why do we have to chase after strange-looking men? Why do we have to go into old towers, nearly kill ourselves, for nothing?"

"We don't have to, but Niko feels some need to. He's done this before, hasn't he?" Charlotte nodded. "Well, I don't know the details of it, but I feel like we'll be fine in the end. Niko knows what he's doing here."

Minutes later, Niko walked back down the alleyway, Braviary flying closely behind him. Once he was within talking distance, he simply shook his head.

"Nothing?"

"Not really. Those men…they're just some poker club."

"Are you _kidding_ me…" Charlotte said. "We follow a _poker club_?"

"Guess so. I mean, I could still be wrong, but I doubt it. I leaned against the door and they were talking with some other man about a poker tournament happening in Opelucid City in a couple of weeks. That's it." Niko said. Suddenly, he felt a hand press against his chest, as if he was being pushed. "What? I'm sorry!"

"Niko…you need to stop doing this." Charlotte said. "Every time we do something related to Team Plasma, we risk getting ourselves hurt, or worse. I certainly don't want to die, and neither does Warren, so let's stop doing this every time we see something sketchy, alright?"

"Fine. I'm sorry it bothered you so much. I guess I just didn't realize it." Niko said, looking guilty.

"It's fine, I might have overreacted a little…" She replied with an equally guilty smile.

"Anyway, let's keep going, unless there's more to Village Bridge that you want to see." Niko said. Charlotte shrugged, and the trio continued on their way.

On their way out of Village Bridge, they heard a lovely melody being played down under the bridge. Turning to go investigate, the trio saw a tall, brunette woman lightly humming a tune, with two younger men playing instruments alongside her. For several minutes the trio watched them practice, eventually conceding to leave once they'd had their fill.

* * *

Later that day, the trio arrived on route 12. According to Charlotte, Lacunosa Town was still a few days away. This gave Niko some time to continue his training with his Pokémon.

Route 12, unlike route 11, was a vast grassland coated in a very thin layer of snow, with hardly any trees besides the ones that ran along the edge of the land. Hills were scattered aplenty around the valley. The sun shone through a lightly-cloudy sky, baking the valley in half as much light as it ordinarily would. Shadows appeared along route 12 as the clouds moved in and out of the sun's path.

The trio sat down at the top of a hill to rest after walking for a few hours. During this time, Niko took to training. Like he used to do before arriving in Opelucid City, he paired up his Pokémon so they could practice evasion techniques against one another. Braviary and Boldore paired up, and Litwick and Druddigon paired up. That left Servine—who wasn't in the mood to train—and Tynamo left. Once the others started practicing, Niko walked over to Tynamo.

"Hey, buddy, c'mon." Niko said, motioning for the EleFish Pokémon to join him. Tynamo followed Niko back up the hill. "We're going to work exclusively on your moveset, alright?" Tynamo nodded, looking more determined than usual. From his perspective, it was nice to see Niko spending time with him, as his trainer rarely has recently. Niko sat down in the grass, off to the side from where Warren and Charlotte were. "So, in our battle with Skyla you used more electricity than you thought was possible, right?" Tynamo nodded. "Well, I've wanted you to try and replicate that recently, but I guess it hasn't really done what I thought it would. Have you reached your limit since then?" Once again, Tynamo nodded. Alright then. We're going to try that again, but I want you to pretend you're in a high stakes battle. I want to see that you can do this."

Tynamo nodded, attempting a spark attack. It hardly did anything. Frowning a little, Niko tapped Tynamo on the spine to get his attention.

"Think about that feeling you had when you battled that Swanna. Maybe that'll help." Niko said. Tynamo nodded, thinking hard about how it felt—the passion, the energy flowing through him. He then produced a stronger spark this time, but it hardly measured up to what he used against Swanna. "Better."

It then began to rain, which seemed to upset Tynamo a little. But Niko wouldn't stop asking Tynamo to use electric attacks.

During this time, Warren and Charlotte began to pack their things up and head down towards the forest on the edge of the valley, along with Niko's other Pokémon. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you."

"Are you sure?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm going to spend some time out here with Tynamo first, and then I'll seek shelter."

"What if you get sick? It's cold out." Charlotte protested.

"I'll be _fine_. Look, I'm warm." Niko said, holding out his arms as if revealing the several layers of clothing that he was wearing. Charlotte shook her, but continued with Warren towards the trees to seek shelter, returning Niko's Pokémon to their pokéballs in the process. "Alright Tynamo, are you alright with continuing?"

The EleFish Pokémon nodded, and continuing generating electricity. After nearly half an hour, he collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Alright, you've had enough for today." Niko said, reaching to pick Tynamo up. He then felt a static shock run through his fingers to his arms. "Ow! Wha-what was that for?" Tynamo floated back into the air and angrily sparked electricity into the distance. Niko then gathered that he was frustrated with himself, for whatever reason. "Hey, don't worry buddy, you'll get it. I know you will."

Tynamo nodded, looking disappointed.

"Look, we all get stronger at our own pace, right? Hey…want to hear a story?" Niko said, sitting back down in the damp grass. Tynamo then nodded, and Niko began talking. "So, when I began travelling as a Pokémon trainer, it was roughly four years ago. I began with my best friends from school—Fay, and JJ. Now, all three of us wanted to challenge gyms, kinda like I am with you now.

"We got to the first gym in a place called Pewter City. Fay and I beat the gym leader, Brock, and got our first badges. But JJ didn't. He lost, and lost badly. He quit challenging gyms, and so only Fay and I continued on. But you see, Fay was a better trainer than I was. We travelled through two regions together, and battled sixteen gyms. He never lost a single one, and I lost three of those sixteen. In all of our battles against one another, he only lost to me once—and that was after two years of travelling with him.

"My first ever Pokémon League was ended when he beat me. I placed Top 32, and he placed Top 8, so he did way better than I did. It ruined me. I felt like I let me team of Pokémon down. I let myself down. I was a huge mess. But it was Fay and JJ—and our other friend, Brittany—that got me back up, and helped me keep going. And eventually, in my second Pokémon League, I beat Fay with my team of Pokémon. I didn't give up, even when I thought all was lost. I could have been stubborn and just given up completely, but I didn't.

"Look, the point of this story is to make you believe that you _can_ do this. And that I believe in you more than you can imagine. I might not always show it, and sometimes I might focus on someone else, but I will never, _ever_ give up on you. You're stronger than you realize, just like I was when I first started out on my own journey."

Tynamo nodded, looking away from Niko for a moment. He then issued a loud gargling sound and, with the help of the rain, conjured a powerful lightning bolt from the sky that hit him directly in the middle of his spine. Niko scrambled backwards, unsure of what happened. Was Tynamo…using a new move…?

Suddenly, the EleFish Pokémon began to glow a shiny white and yellow color, growing immensely. He was no longer a small, white and yellow eel. He was now nearly four feet in length from its half-of-a-foot length prior to evolution.

The new Pokémon was blue-black, and eel-like. He had a beige underbelly, and a round, toothy, leech-like mouth with red lips. His eyes had small pupils with yellow circles patterning around them, as well as spots. Beige fins extended from above and below its head, and its body was decorated with three yellow spots on the side. It had a red tail fin that resembled a fan. Out of shock, Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the new Pokémon:

" _Eelektrik, the EleFish Pokémon. Electric type. It wraps itself around its prey and paralyzes it with electricity from the round spots on its sides. Then it chomps_."

"Well then…" Niko said with a smirk. "Guess you really do have it in you. Well done, Eelektrik."

Suddenly, he noticed Charlotte and Warren running up the hill with worried looks on their faces, along with Braviary and Druddigon.

"Niko! Are—are you alright?" Warren asked, out of breath.

"Heh, I'm perfectly fine. And so is Eelektrik." He said, motioning towards the EleFish Pokémon.

"Eelektrik…?" Everyone looked over to see the eel playfully running around in the rain, as if he had never seen it before. "Oh, Tynamo _evolved_. How?" Warren asked.

"Don't really know. Guess he hit his electricity limit again, and moved beyond it. He got pretty fired up at the end, and I think he used thunderbolt just as he evolved." Niko said. "Anyways, c'mon buddy, let's get out of the rain."

At first Eelektrik didn't want to leave, but upon further coercion from Niko he did, joining Braviary and Druddigon as the group went down to their small campsite, where Litwick, Servine, Boldore, and Warren and Charlotte's Pokémon were waiting. At the sight of Eelektrik, they all looked up in surprise, trying to soak in all of the new information coming at them. The tiny little Tynamo was growing up. And to them, it looked much stronger. That's exactly how Eelektrik himself felt—stronger.


	39. The World Tournament Junior Cup!

**Episode 39: The World Tournament Junior Cup!**

Lacunosa Town was one of the more fascinating towns that Niko has seen during his time in Unova. Upon their arrival there, Charlotte whipped out her book to find any interesting history on it. And, to her surprise, she found some.

"The Lacunosa Legend: A long time ago, it is said that a large meteor came from the sky containing a terrifying monster. It was said that at night the monster would appear in the town along with the cold winds and take away humans and Pokémon to eat them. Eventually, the residents of the town surrounded Lacunosa Town in a wall to keep the monster out and a rule was then set on the town that forbade anyone from leaving at night and encouraged people to stay in their homes. Even though Lacunosa residents claim to no longer believe this old story, they still stay inside of their houses at night and the walls remain standing to this day." She said at a booth in the Pokémon Center.

"Geez…do you think it's real?" Warren asked, with a mixture of horror and excitement written on his face.

"Maybe. Anything's possible in this world." Niko said. "I've definitely seen things that would make this seem pretty true."

"Like what?" Warren asked, suddenly interested. Niko smirked, and then told him about the Distortion World that he ventured into with Lauren. "Oh…oh my. That kind of place exists?"

"Yeah, it does. In fact, it's almost been a year since I've gone there."

"Only _months_ before I met you, you went into some other dimension!? Geez, Niko! You should've told me these things earlier!"

"You know perfectly well why I didn't." Niko protested in a teasing tone. "Anyways, that's a cool legend. I wonder if we might see anything odd while we're here. Actually…speaking of which, how long _are_ we planning on staying here?"

Just as Charlotte was about to answer, a flyer was dropped at their table by a man in a Pokémon League official's outfit. The trio all stared at the flyer before Warren eagerly picked it up.

"Pokémon World Tournament Annual Junior Cup—what the?"

"Oh, I've heard of that!" Charlotte said. "Yeah, the World Tournament is an event that happens every ten years or so. But there is a small tournament held every year in Lacunosa Town. Only sixteen trainers get to enter it."

"What do you get if you win?" Niko asked.

"I think the winner gets to battle Champion Alder. But…since he isn't the champion anymore, I don't know who you get to battle." Charlotte said with a shrug. "But, according to this flyer, it's actually tomorrow. And registration ends today."

"Well, we got lucky. Let's enter it!" Niko said excitedly.

"You mean…us too?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah! Why not? It doesn't really mean much, right? It'll just be a fun tournament for all of us to take part in. I'm game if you all are."

"But…I only have two Pokémon. And Warren only has three. And you have _seven_." Charlotte said, looking a little dejected.

"Well, I think you should at least give it a shot, alright?" Niko said sympathetically. "Who knows? Maybe you'll do well!"

"It's also only one-on-one battles, according to the back of the flyer." Warren said, flipping the paper over. "Yeah, only single battles. So if there are only sixteen contestants, that's four battles, right? We could both enter and be just fine." Warren said, turning specifically to Charlotte.

"…fine. I'll do it." She said, placing her hands on the table. "We should go and register as soon as possible, then."

It didn't take long to find the tournament site—it was a massive stadium in the middle of Lacunosa Town. After entering the stadium, Niko led his friends over to a registration desk a mere fifty feet away from the sliding double doors. Within minutes, the three of them were registered. Charlotte felt a little nervous about it, but Niko noticed this and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright." He said plainly. Charlotte nodded, and proceeded with the quick registration.

Once they finished, the trio took some seats in the lounge. As they did so, Niko noticed Charles and his biker gang walking in. Niko nodded towards him, and Charles returned the nod with a smirk of his own.

"Guess Charles is competing, too." Niko said, sitting down. "Didn't take him to be a serious trainer."

"He's not the only one…" Warren said, pointing across the lobby to a familiar black-haired, black-dressed figure. "Look, Niko."

"Oh, hell." Niko said after turning his head, whipping it back to see Warren and Charlotte. "Of course he's here. He always is." He thought for a moment before continuing. "In fact, that's how I met Hunter. We were competing in a Tag Tournament in Hearthome City, in Sinnoh. Seems like we're coming full circle here."

"Think you could beat him this time?" Warren asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know any more with Hunter. I used to think that I could, but now I just don't even bother. He isn't worth my time anymore." Niko said, leaning back in his chair. "So Charles, Hunter, you two…who else could _possibly_ enter this tournament?"

* * *

The next day Niko, Warren, and Charlotte showed back up at the stadium for the opening day of the World Tournament Junior Cup. Alongside their thirteen other opponents, they noticed Hunter, Charles and, of all people, Elliot. Niko and Elliot locked eyes and nodded to one another as the sixteen of them stood side-by-side. Soon enough, they heard a voice echo from a box above them.

"Welcome, one and all, to the Annual Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup!" A familiar voice echoed out. "I am Alder, the former Champion of the Unova League, and I will be co-hosting this tournament with my longtime friend, Freddy O'Martian." Niko saw Alder point to a shorter man with slicked-back black hair and thick eyebrows sitting above a pair of dark blue eyes. "As you may or may not know, this is a tournament where sixteen registrants will compete in one-on-one Pokémon battles in a tournament-style fashion. There will be four matches overall, and the last one standing will get a chance to battle me, also in a one-on-one battle!"

Alder then handed the microphone over to Freddy O'Martian, who quickly began speaking. "Thank you once again, Alder, for co-hosting this tournament with me. It's always a pleasure and an honor to work alongside you. Contestants—welcome. My name is Freddy O'Martian, and I will be the announcer for the battles you are all about to undertake!

"I will explain how this tournament will work: there will be four battles, like Alder said, and the winner will challenge Alder. The first two battles will occur today, and the final two—plus the battle with the former champion—will be held tomorrow. Now, without further ado, let us reveal the first matchups of the tournament!"

A monitor above the stands—and above Niko and the other contestants—showed sixteen profiles, some of which Niko recognized. The profiles then shifted around into eight pairs, and then revealed themselves once more. Niko didn't recognize his opponent, and he didn't recognize the pairings for Hunter, Elliot, or Charles. However…Warren and Charlotte were facing off against one another. He turned to his two friends. Warren looked excited, but Charlotte certainly wasn't.

"Well, guess one of us is out in the first round…" She said dejectedly.

"True, but just give it your all, Charlotte!" Niko said cheerfully. "Who knows? You might beat Warren!"

"That's true." Warren said. "It'll be a fun match, that's for sure!"

"I hope so." Charlotte said, just as Elliot joined them. "Oh, hey Elliot."

"Hey guys. I take it you're entering as well?"

"Well, obviously." Niko said teasingly. "Good to see you. Best of luck."

"Same to you." Elliot said before walking off. Niko then heard Freddy O'Martian's voice, this time asking all of the contestants to leave the field, except for Hunter and his opponent—Sadie.

"Great, we get to watch Hunter battle…" Niko mumbled to himself while he, Warren, and Charlotte took their spots in the stands. Being contestants, they got pretty nice seats—front row.

Minutes later, Hunter and Sadie appeared on the field, as did an official referee who stood in the middle. After explaining the traditional rules of the match, Hunter and Sadie send out their individual Pokémon—Hunter, his Drapion; Sadie, a Pignite.

"Oh! Never seen one of those before." Charlotte said, pulling out her pokédex, with Niko and Warren leaning in to see Drapion's dex entry. Niko, meanwhile, pulled out his own to view Pignite:

" _Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokémon. Fire and fighting type. The more it eats, the more fuel it has to make the fire in its stomach stronger. This fills it with even more power_."

"Drapion, cross poison!" Hunter commanded, just as Sadie commanded for Pignite to use flame charge. Fire erupted from all around Pignite as he charged towards Drapion before being halted in his tracks by the cross poison. "Now, poison fang!"

The Ogre Scorpion Pokémon scuttled quickly across the field, snapping its jaws together as they began to glow bright purple. Drapion then snapped downwards, grabbing onto Pignite with its teeth and flinging it into the air.

"Cross poison, again." Hunter said plainly. Drapion conjured a light purple "x" mark with its claws and shot it upwards at Pignite, exploding on contact. Pignite then collapsed onto the ground in defeat. "Good work, Drapion." He said, returning his Pokémon before the referee even declared victory.

"Pignite is unable to battle, Drapion is the winner! And the victory goes to Hunter from Castelia City!" The referee declared.

"What…the…" Warren said, eyes wide open. "You _fought_ that thing before?"

"Yeah, and lost to it…multiple times. It isn't even his strongest." Niko said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"I regret entering this tournament." Charlotte said, just as Sadie ran off in tears. Moments later, a new pair of trainers walked onto the field. They had a Liepard and a Jolteon. Ultimately, the Liepard won out against the Jolteon, despite taking a ton of pin missile attacks from the latter.

Following that battle was a match between two people from Nimbasa City. One had a Maractus, and the other owned a Galvantula. The Galvantula quickly won by trapping Maractus in its electric web and using bug buzz repeatedly. At the sight of the battle, Niko shuttered a little—he disliked arachnid-esque Pokémon like Galvantula.

Next up was Niko. He left his seat for the battlefield to meet with his first opponent on the battlefield. It was a young man, likely around the same age as he was, but more polished-looking. He had glasses, a smooth, hairless face, and slicked back hair. In terms of clothing, he wore a white dress shirt with a plaid vest over it, and gray slacks. As soon as the referee explained the rules of the match, Niko and his opponent—Carl—sent out their Pokémon.

"Klang, I choose you!" Carl shouted, summoning an unfamiliar Pokémon to Niko. It was an odd-looking Pokémon: it resembled three interlocking gears, with six teeth on the smaller two gears and eight teeth on the larger one.

" _Klang, the Gear Pokémon. Steel type. A minigear and a big gear comprise its body. If the minigear it launches at a foe doesn't return, it will die_."

"Interesting. Litwick, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his trust Candle Pokémon. "Use will-o-wisp!"

"Klang, screech!" Carl commanded, adjusting his glasses. The blue wisps of fire hit Klang directly in the middle of the large gear, leaving a nasty burn mark on it while it grinded its gears together to create an awful-sounding noise, which made Litwick cry out in pain. "Now, discharge!" Klang obeyed, once more grinding its gears together to generate enough electricity to release across the field, hitting Litwick and nearly paralyzing her.

"Litwick, we got this! Use hex!" Niko commanded. Litwick nodded, conjuring a purple and black sphere and launching it at Klang. "Now, follow up with flame burst!" The Candle Pokémon obeyed, opening her mouth and spitting out a fire ball that hit Klang immediately following the hex. The Gear Pokémon grinded slowly now, the burn clearly doing what it was supposed to—slow the Pokémon and lessen its attack power.

"Use discharge again!" Carl said, seeing an opportunity to strike again. Klang obeyed, generating more electricity. However, Litwick was once again quicker. She spit out another flame burst that hit Klang, knocking it to the ground, and slowing its gears to a stop.

"Klang is unable to battle, Litwick is the winner! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared. Niko smiled towards Litwick, who looked positively proud of herself, and returned her to her pokéball before joining his friends in the stands, in place of Elliot and his opponent, who were next.

"I haven't seen Elliot battle in a long time." Charlotte commented as the two took to the field—Elliot and his male opponent, Joshua.

Once more, the referee announced the rules, and Elliot used Zweilous to challenge Joshua's Gothorita—a small, black, feminine-looking Pokémon with white bows on its torso and in its "hair."

" _Gothorita, the Manipulate Pokémon. Psychic Type. According to many old tales, it creates friends for itself by controlling sleeping children on starry nights._ "

"Zweilous, dragon pulse!" Elliot commanded. The Hostile Pokémon unleashed a powerful purple beam of draconic energy at Gothorita, who deflected with protect. "Fine. Use dragon rush then!"

Zweilous dashed forward, scuttling across the battlefield with its own two feet as Gothorita attempted to use faint attack. Zweilous hit first, dragging Gothorita across the remainder of the battlefield before knocking it off (the battlefield was on a raised platform). Elliot then commanded it to use dragon pulse, and the Manipulate Pokémon was quickly defeated.

"He's as good as Hunter!" Warren commented in surprise. "You've fought _him_ too?"

"Yeah, and _that_ isn't even his strongest." Niko said with a sigh. "His Scizor is something else."

"Niko…my god." Warren said as the referee was declaring the victory for Elliot. "Let's hope Elliot and Hunter get to battle one another before you have to.

"I don't think that's possible, actually. They're on different parts of the bracket." Charlotte explained, looking up at the tournament bracket. Niko then let out a heavier sigh. "But you'll do fine! Hopefully Hunter goes up against someone stronger!"

"Doubtful." Niko said, now watching Charles' match against his opponent. The biker used his Bouffalant against a Floatzel, and quickly finished it off with a few head charges.

The next match was Warren and Charlotte. When they found this out, they both got up and left Niko alone in the stands.

"And now our next match—both from Castelia City. Please give a round of applause for Charlotte and Warren!" Freddy O'Martian announced as soon as both of Niko's friends approached the stage. The referee explained the rules of the match, and then Charlotte and Warren pulled out pokéballs, ready to battle.

"Deerling, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Season Pokémon.

"Leavanny, I choose you!" Warren said, sending out the Nurturing Pokémon. "Use slash!"

"Deerling, faint attack!" Charlotte called out. Deerling briefly disappeared just as Leavanny was approaching it. As soon as Leavanny got close, Deerling reappeared, slamming into his opponent and knocking both of them to the ground. "Now, double kick!"

"Bug bite!" Warren commanded. Leavanny lurched her head up and bit down on Deerling's front hoof before he could use an attack. "Now, fling it away!"

Leavanny, using all of her strength, lifted Deerling with her mouth and tossed him to the side before getting back onto her feet and using string shot to tie down the Season Pokémon.

"Leavanny, use slash!" Warren shouted. However, this time Leavanny's leaf-blade-hands started to glow green instead of their usual white color. "Oh…huh?"

Leavanny slammed down the blade on Deerling, slicing through the string shot and hitting Deerling's exterior with what now looked like leaf blade. Smirking, Warren then looked up at Charlotte, who was not too happy with the way this battle was going.

"Finish Deerling off with bug bite!" Warren shouted.

"No! Deerling, use faint attack!" Charlotte commanded. The Season Pokémon quickly got onto his feet and disappeared just as Leavanny dove down to use bug bite before reappearing and crashing into the Nurturing Pokémon.

"Leavanny, leaf blade!" Warren shouted. The Nurturing Pokémon then slashed at Deerling, launching him across the battlefield and into the ground. "Now, string shot and bug bite!"

"Double kick!" Charlotte said, but it was useless—Leavanny pinned her Pokémon down and dashed forward to use bug bite and finish Deerling off. Seeing her Pokémon lose, Charlotte stomped the ground a little in anger.

"Deerling is unable to battle, Leavanny is the winner! And the victory goes to Warren from Castelia City!" The referee declared.

"Return." They both said at the same time before walking into the stands to join Niko to watch the final match of the first round. It was a match between a Dewott—apparently the evolved form of one of the Unova starters, Oshawott—and a Heatmor, which was a fire type anteater Pokémon. The Dewott, having the clear advantage, won the match within the first few attacks. The entire time, neither Niko, Warren, or Charlotte spoke.

"And that's it for the first round! Now, we will reveal the pairings for the second round, and begin after a short break for lunch!" Freddy O'Martian announced before turning off his mic.

Niko looked up and noticed and he didn't recognize either his or Hunter's opponent. He also didn't recognize Warren's. But Charles and Elliot were the third match, which would be interesting, to say the least.

At lunch, Niko and his friend still sat in silence. Niko tried to make conversation with Charlotte, but it was clear that she was upset by the battle, and didn't feel like talking. Neither did Warren, who looked guilty more than anything. And it upset him to see his friends like this. But he had to stay focused, because if he and Hunter both won their next battles, they would inevitably be facing off against one another.

* * *

 **Author's note: I do want to remind readers that,regarding descriptions of things in the Pokemon universe, I use their entries and descriptions of Pokemon biology and other relevant material on Bulbapedia. The Lacunosa Legend was copy and pasted from that site, and I give full credit to whoever wrote it, both on Bulbapedia and in the actual game. Have to give credit where credit is due.**


	40. A regal entrance!

**Episode 40: A regal entrance!**

"Welcome to the second round of the Annual Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup!" Freddy O'Martian announced through the microphone. "We are now down to eight contestants. In our first match—Hunter from Castelia City versus Carmen from Lentimas Town!"

Hunter and Carmen both appeared on the battlefield just as the referee began explaining the rules of the match. As soon as he finished, both trainers summoned their Pokémon.

"Bisharp, let's go." Hunter said plainly while Carmen summoned a Ninetales. Hunter's Pokémon was one that Niko didn't immediately recognize. It was a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon with a round, red and black head akin to a war helmet that was topped with a golden, double-head axe blade. Its face was primarily yellow with a black outline. Its red shoulders project slight over its arms and have a thin yellow line where they meet its black torso. It has white, metallic hands that resemble gloves, with retractable blade attached. Encircling its torso are two blades, which create the impression of a ribcage. Its thighs were red and become progressively thinner as they connect to the knee. Lastly, both of its feet were metallic and split down the middle, resembling cloven hooves.

" _Bisharp, the Sword Blade Pokémon. Dark and steel type. This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off._ " Niko's pokédex said.

"Bisharp, use night slash." Hunter said calmly. Bisharp then charged forward with incredible speed, slashing at Ninetales before it could respond with a flamethrower that Carmen commanded. Ninetales fell to the ground from the force of the attack, wincing a little. "Now, faint attack!"

Bisharp then attacked Ninetales mercilessly, slashing and crashing into it. Ninetales managed to land a flame charge, but it collided with Bisharp's faint attack, quickly falling to the ground in defeat.

"Ninetales is unable to battle, Bisharp is the winner! The victory goes to Hunter from Castelia City!" The referee declared.

"Niko…" Warren said.

"I know. I know." Niko replied before his friend could finish. "He's tough, I get it."

Niko then got up—he was next. If he won this match, he would go up against Hunter. He knew exactly what he was getting himself into. He walked onto the field to meet his opponent—a young blonde woman with a plaid shirt and jeans on. She looked tough, like she went to the gym quite often and partook in martial arts. As it turned, out, she did: her Pokémon was a short, red-skinned Pokémon in a martial arts outfit. It was called Throh.

" _Throh, the Judo Pokémon. Fighting type. When it encounters a foe bigger than itself, it wants to throw it. It changes belts as it gets stronger_."

"Fine, then. Braviary, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his Valiant Pokémon. _This shouldn't be too difficult_. He thought to himself. "Use aerial ace!"

"Bulk up!" Throh's trainer—named Addison—shouted. Throh then ripped through his clothes, beefing up more while Braviary dove down towards it. "Now, use circle throw!"

Braviary struck first, hitting Throh just as the Judo Pokémon grabbed Braviary's neck and thrust him behind it, slamming the Valiant Pokémon into the ground. Braviary immediately got back onto his talons, staring down Throh for a moment before taking flight just as the Judo Pokémon tried to attack with another circle throw.

"Use air cutter!" Niko shouted. Braviary backed away, tucked his wings in, and then opened them up again, unleashing small, light blue blades of air at Throh, who winced from each hit.

"Throh, use bulk up!" Addison commanded just as Braviary dove down for a second aerial ace. This time Braviary landed on the ground, this time on his talons, just as Throh collapsed onto the ground face-first.

"Throh is unable to battle, Braviary is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

 _That's it—I'm up against Hunter now_ , Niko thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, he thanked Braviary and returned him to his pokéball before returning to the stands to watch Elliot and Charles' match. In this match, Elliot used his Mienfoo, and Charles used a Pokémon called Carracosta, which Charlotte identified as the evolution of Tirtouga, a Pokémon Niko had previously fought.

Mienfoo, for all of its strength, didn't hold up as well against the Carracosta, even though it had the advantage. The match was longer than any of them thought it would be, eventually going to Mienfoo, who defeated the Prototurtle Pokémon with a drain punch.

"And now, we have our next match—Warren from Castelia City versus Nathan from Virbank City!" Freddy O'Martian announced. Niko and Charlotte—who was starting to feel a little better—both cheered as Warren took the stage, sending out his Poliwhirl this time to face Nathan's Gligar.

"Poliwhirl, use hypnosis!" Warren commanded. The Tadpole Pokémon nodded, forcing the black and white swirl on his stomach to swirl around, hypnotizing Gligar into falling asleep, right in the middle of its swords dance. "Now, water gun!"

Poliwhirl shot out a powerful jet of water from his stomach, hitting the sleeping Gligar on the ground, pushing it across the battlefield. Poliwhirl then, on Warren's command, dashed forward to use doubleslap on Gligar quickly, inadvertently waking it up. Gligar then rose to Poliwhirl's height and tackled it to the ground with a slash attack, causing the Tadpole Pokémon to wince briefly.

"Poliwhirl!" Warren shouted. "Use water gun!" The Tadpole Pokémon got back to his feet and used a close-range water attack on Gligar, knocking the Flyscorpion Pokémon backwards. Poliwhirl repeated this again, and then followed up with a hypnosis on Warren's command, putting Gligar to sleep. "Now, finish it off with doubleslap!" He said, thrusting a fist forward, just like Poliwhirl did when he charged at the sleeping Gligar and slapped it silly, defeating it in the process.

"Gligar is unable to battle, Poliwhirl is the winner! And the victory goes to Warren from Castelia City!" The referee declared.

Warren high-fived his Poliwhirl before returning him to his pokéball and returning to the stands, where Niko and Charlotte greeted him cheerfully.

"And that's it, folks! We have our final four now!" Freddy O'Martian announced. "Starting off tomorrow's match will be—Hunter from Castelia City and Niko from Pallet Town! Then, we have Elliot from Viridian City and Warren from Castelia City! Tomorrow, one of these four men will be declared the victor in the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, and have the opportunity to battle former Unova League Champion Alder!"

That evening, Niko sat in their rental room in the Pokémon Center. Warren and Charlotte were there as well. Charlotte was reading her book, presumably more about Lacunosa Town's legends. Warren was watching Leavanny practice her sewing. And Niko sat there with his full team of Pokémon.

"Well, tomorrow we're fighting Hunter. I don't know if anyone of you have met him, save for Servine, but he's the toughest trainer I've ever faced. As you know, it's a one-on-one battle. So…does anyone feel like going up against him?"

Servine was the first to step forward, almost immediately after Niko asked the question, which both surprised and impressed him.

"Alright then. Servine, I choose you." Niko said with a smirk. His other Pokémon all turned to Servine, who as still locking eyes with her trainer, a fire burning in her red eyes.

* * *

"Welcome, one and all, to the second day of the Annual Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup! I'm your host, Freddy O'Martian, here with former Unova League Champion Alder! Today, we will crown the winner of the tournament, as well as give them the opportunity to have a one-on-one battle with Alder!

"In our first battle, we have Hunter from Castelia City versus Niko from Pallet Town! Trainers, get ready!" He announced.

Hunter and Niko faced one another, each of them silent. It was the first time they had faced in over half a year, since Niko had a practice battle against him in the Fight Area. _I know I'm going to lose here, but we're going to give it our best_ , Niko thought to himself. He took a deep breath, and pulled out Servine's pokéball just as the referee allowed them to begin.

"Servine, I choose you!"

"Haxorus, I choose you." Hunter said, summoning the Axe Jaw Pokémon that pummeled Servine in their last encounter. "Ah, that Pokémon again. I see." He said quietly.

Upon seeing Haxorus, Servine immediately felt energy flowing through her—angry energy. So as soon as Niko commanded her to use leaf blade, she was already off towards her opponent. She leapt through the air, aiming to build up her momentum just like she did against Drayden's Pokémon. Unfortunately for her, Hunter's Haxorus anticipated this and, as soon as Servine lunged towards it, grabbed the Grass Snake's tail and slammed her into the ground with all of the momentum she had gained.

Niko could hear Servine's cry among the loud noise accompanying her crash into the battlefield. He then saw a flood of memories rush into his mind's eye—all of the times Hunter's Pokémon verbally or physically assaulted his friends or Pokémon; all of it was coming back to him. He felt the anger, the rage once more.

"Servine! Get back up and use leaf tornado!" Niko commanded. Just as Haxorus brought down its claw into the ground, Servine flipped backwards and used leaf tornado mid-somersault, hitting Haxorus directly in the face before landing back on her feet. Niko noticed Hunter frown briefly in response to this. "Leaf blade!" He shouted.

Servine leapt forward and slashed at Haxorus, once more hitting the Axe Jaw Pokémon, and successfully landing before Haxorus could use another move. She then turned to Niko and nodded.

"I'm proud of you, Servine. Always have been." Niko said. He then watched Servine take a nasty hit from dragon tail and forced her into the ground once more. Now, she had difficulty getting back up. "Don't give in, buddy. You've _never_ done that. NEVER!" Niko called out. He suddenly felt like he had tunnel vision, just like when Hunter nearly killed his Rampardos in their last official battle together. This time, though, it wasn't filled with a morbid feeling. It was something different.

Then, amidst the rubble caused by Haxorus' multiple attacks, Servine began to glow a bright white color. And, out of the rubble came an incredibly long, serpentine-like Pokémon. Like Snivy and Servine before her, this new Pokémon was primarily pale green. Her face and throat were white, while her back was dark green. Curled, mint-colored patterns extend into the white portion of her face, and she had narrow red eyes like her predecessors. In her lower jaw were two, visible fangs when her mouth opened. There were two pointed yellow extensions on the back of her head. Coiled, dark green extensions spread out from the sides of her lower neck, forming a curving pattern lower down the body. Just below her neck were two small leaf-like protrusions coming from either side.

" _Serperior, the Regal Pokémon. Grass type. It only gives its all against strong opponents who are not fazed by the glare from Serperior's noble eyes._ " Charlotte's pokédex read.

"My god…" Warren said. "That's the same little Snivy that started this whole journey…" He continued, amazed at how larger the Serperior was, at least compared to Snivy or even Servine.

"Wow…" Niko said, also staring at his Pokémon. Serperior then turned to look at Niko and smirk her usual smirk. Niko's face hardened, though—they definitely had a shot at winning now. "Serperior, use—?" He then watched as Serperior coiled up briefly, watching her skin glow faintly. "Err…use leaf blade!"

Serperior then leapt into action, uncurling herself and, with her tail glowing, managed to swipe at Haxorus, albeit missing wildly. It was clear to Niko—and everyone else—that she was not yet used to her new body. Hunter and Haxorus, seeing an opportunity, then struck Serperior with a dragon claw, knocking Serperior to the ground.

"Leaf tornado!" Niko called out, hoping to maintain his distance. This hardly seemed to matter, since Haxorus then used dragon pulse, hitting Serperior and knocking her to the ground, unable to move.

"Serperior is unable to battle, Haxorus is the winner! The victory goes to Hunter from Castelia City!"

"Figures." Hunter said, promptly returning Haxorus. He gave Niko a quick glance before leaving the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Niko walked up to Serperior and kneeled down. "We'll see Hunter at the Unova League and, if we battle him, I will absolutely use you in it. But we have a lot of work to do."

Serperior, exhausted, nodded and then passed out, which prompted Niko to return her to her pokéball. He then went into the stands—Warren's match against Elliot was next.

"And for our next semifinal matchup, we have Elliot from Viridian City versus Warren from Castelia City!" Freddy O'Martian announced.

The referee then proceeded to explain the rules and, soon enough, Warren and Elliot were both sending out their Pokémon—Warren sent out Pidove, and Elliot sent out a Pokémon called Emboar.

" _Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon. Fire and fighting type. A flaring beard of fire is proof that it is fired up. It is adept at using many different moves_."

"Emboar, use heat crash!" Elliot commanded.

"Pidove, dodge and use air cutter!" Warren called out. The Fire Pig charged at its far smaller opponent while its body was covered in flames. Fortunately, Pidove managed to dodge the move and unleash light blue blades at Emboar. "Now, quick attack!"

"Flamethrower!" Elliot shouted. Emboar turned to Pidove and belted out a jet of fire from its mouth, quickly engulfing Pidove as he crashed into the Fire Pig Pokémon. "Heat crash!" Moments later, Emboar followed up with a full-body tackle, surrounding Pidove in flames once more. The Tiny Pigeon Pokémon collapsed onto the ground, quickly defeated.

"Pidove is unable to battle, Emboar is the winner! And the victory goes to Elliot from Viridian City!" The referee declared.

"Wow! And what a quick match!" Freddy O'Martian announced. "Well folks, we have our final two contestants now! Hunter and Elliot!"

Warren returned to the stands, head in his hands. "Why was I such a dunce there!? I could have used Poliwhirl instead!"

"Warren…" Niko said, planting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I've fought Elliot several times. If I'm being honest, it would have been difficult for you to win that one. Very difficult."

"I know, but still…that was _too_ quick of a match." He said, frowning. He then let out a heavy sigh. "I can do better than that. So can Pidove."

"I know you can. But you placed in the Top 4! That's pretty impressive in its own right!" Niko said.

They then turned their attention to the final match. Hunter and Elliot both stood opposite one another. Niko personally wanted Elliot to win. He was a better trainer and, from Niko's perspective, a far better person. He deserved to win, in any event. For the final time, the referee explained the rules of the match and, within moments, both finalists sent out their Pokémon of choice.

"Toxicroak!"

"Scizor!"

"I choose you!" They said simultaneously, summoning two Pokémon very familiar to Niko. Two Pokémon that he could never seem to defeat.

"Use cross chop!" Hunter said. Elliot countered with iron head from Scizor, and both Pokémon collided instantly. Upon impact a wave of energy burst from them, ripping the field to shreds. The sheer power of the two—years of constant training with their respective trainers—was a sight to behold.

The two continued to exchanged moves, back and forth. It was obvious that Toxicroak was the one with the disadvantage, type-wise, since none of its poison moves were affecting Scizor. However, Scizor had difficulty landing moves on the incredibly agile Toxicroak. Therefore, in all they were evenly matched.

"You've fought these two before?" Charlotte asked in wonderment.

"And lost to both of them, yes. In fact, I think I've only seen Scizor lose twice. Once as a scyther to my friend Fay. But I've never managed to defeat it. It's certainly his ace Pokémon, though." Niko said. It was then that he also noticed something on Elliot's wrist. It was a small crystal, and it seemed to be glowing faintly. He didn't seem to recognize it, though.

The two continued to exchange blows, however, and neither seemed exhausted in the least. By now, the referee was putting a timer on the match—if neither Pokémon won decisively in the next few minutes, then each trainer would need to use a different Pokémon to break the tie.

"Toxicroak, sucker punch!" Hunter commanded. Toxicroak quickly shifted across the floor of the battlefield, dodging an iron head from Scizor and stabbing the Pincer Pokémon in the side, causing it to crumble to the ground. This was the opening he needed. "Now, cross chop!"

"Scizor, defend with x-scissor!" Elliot shouted quickly. However, it was too late—Toxicroak was slamming its claws down on Scizor, unfolding the "x" it made with its arms and slashing at its opponent with a strength Niko had rarely seen before. Toxicroak then jumped off of Scizor and landed a few yards away, staring down its opponent and waiting for further movement. There was none.

"Scizor is unable to battle, Toxicroak is the winner! And the victory goes to Hunter from Castelia City!" The referee declared. Both Elliot and Hunter returned their Pokémon, but only Hunter remained on the field. Moments later, Alder appeared down on the battlefield, and received a round of applause from the audience, and particularly Niko and his friends, as he did so. Alder then introduced himself to Hunter, who at least responded cordially.

"So, Hunter, do you accept my challenge for a battle?" He asked.

"No. No I do not." Hunter said before walking off, leaving the audience—and Alder—in silence.

Alder blinked a few times before turning to the crowd. "Well then, I suppose that concludes the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup! If anyone would like to chat, I'll be around here and in the lobby, along with my good friend Freddy O'Martian! Thank you to all of the participants and those who watched and cheered on the trainers and their Pokémon. Have a wonderful rest of your day!" He then cut the microphone, and a hoard of people walked down the stands to the battlefield to meet with the champion.

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte didn't join in the crowd, since it would take too long to finally get to talk with the former champion. But Niko briefly locked eyes with Alder, who nodded and flashed a smile. Niko returned the nod, and walked out of the stands and into the lobby. There, he caught sight of Elliot, who had just finished talking with someone else.

"Congrats, Elliot." Niko said.

"Oh, hey Niko. Thanks. Do you know what's up with that Hunter guy? Seems kind of rude to me."

"Yeah, that's how he always is." Niko said, shaking his head. "Anyways, I hope to see you at the Unova League this year. You're Scizor has gotten much better."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. He has for sure. And I hope to see you there as well. If we get another chance to battle, you can bet it'll be a good one."

"Just like last time." Niko said, holding his hand out. Elliot shook it, and the two parted ways, just after Elliot said farewell to Warren and Charlotte.

Niko smiled. He felt a little lighter, despite his battle with Hunter. His Pokémon was stronger, and more determined than ever to get stronger still. He had a more friendly rivalry with Elliot. And he was well on his way to getting his final Unova League gym badge in Humilau City. Things were looking up for Niko yet again.


	41. The beached jellyfish

**Episode 41: The beached jellyfish**

The day following the World Tournament Junior Cup, the trio left Lacunosa Town and continued their journey towards Humilau City. To get there, they would have to get to Undella Town and then towards their destination via the Marine Tube.

It would take roughly a week to reach Humilau City, and a little less than that to get to Undella Town, which was on the eastern coast of the Unova region. A day into their journey, the trio finally reached the coast, a sight they hadn't had the privilege of seeing since leaving Castelia City. In addition, it was no longer snowing, as winter was slowly making way for spring. This allowed Niko, Warren, and Charlotte to shed their winter clothing in exchange for more comfortable t-shirts and light long-sleeves shirts.

"Wow…" Niko said as they looked over a cliffside at the ocean below them, and smelling the fresh air emanating from the winds coming from the east. He always enjoyed seeing the ocean, even if he did get motion sick travelling across it. Nowadays, it reminded him of the first time he saw the coast on his travels, when him and his friends were walking to Lavender Town in Kanto. "The ocean always amazes me." He said to Warren and Charlotte, both of whom were equally amazed.

"And this is way more fascinating than seeing it from Castelia City." Warren added. "Too many boats."

"Agreed." Charlotte said. "I've never actually seen something like this before."

"You see a lot of it when you travel through the world." Niko said. "But I never get tired of it. Even in Hoenn, where we spent almost a couple months on the ocean, it always feels new to me. Like…what's on the other side of that water? If we travelled in a straight direction, where would it take us?"

"I like the way you think, Niko." Warren said. "Oddly romantic of you. Not in the way you might be thinking, but in a more poetic sense."

"I suppose so." Niko replied, not quite sure what Warren meant.

The trio then spent the remainder of their day on that cliffside, allowing their Pokémon to view it as well. For the most part, they all seemed to find it awe-inspiring. Particularly, and oddly enough, Braviary found it the most fascinating. Niko had never realized how much his bird Pokémon enjoyed the natural world until that day, and this was evident from the fact that the Valiant Pokémon flew off of the cliffside and over into the ocean for a while before coming back. Druddigon did the same, but went slower and glided his way off of the cliff and over the water below.

During that time, Niko contemplated ways to train his constantly evolving—in two senses—team. He had to start thinking about the Unova League, and not exclusively the next gym battle. The last time he challenged a Pokémon League, he had assurance from his reserves of Pokémon back in Pallet Town. Now, for the first time in nearly four years, he did not have that same assurance, and it worried him. For not only did he have to simply _win_ battles to go further, he had to potentially go against trainers that he has never managed to defeat, namely Hunter and Elliot. Both of those trainers were strong enough to make it to the end on their own—Niko, with his current roster of Pokémon, was not. He had to now find ways to improve in such a short period of time. And it bothered him more than he let on.

Charlotte began to catch onto this during their first day on the cliffsides of route 13. She didn't say anything to him, but she certainly sensed that he was pondering a more complex problem that he probably didn't want to discuss at length yet. Meanwhile, Warren was simply enjoying the sights, recording them in his booklet. At one point, he even tried to sketch the scene around him—detailing the ocean, his rendition of the cliff they were sitting on, and the many pointed and jagged rocks below that appeared in a variety of sizes.

On their second day, Niko finally got down to training. With Charlotte's help, he learned that, upon evolution, Serperior had learned a move called "coil." This move helped to increase Serperior's strength during battle, as well as allow her to move faster. In addition, since Serperior was a serpent Pokémon, Niko figured that learning a move like giga drain might be beneficial.

"This way, Serperior could just wrap herself around an opponent and drain their energy that way." Niko said, suddenly getting excited by the prospect of a new move combination. Charlotte smiled, noticing Niko's raw enthusiasm at trying to figure out a novel idea (at least, novel to him). "How does that sound, buddy?" He asked, addressing the now massive Regal Pokémon. Serperior nodded her approval.

However, the two ran into one unexpected problem—Serperior still had to get used to her new body. Her entire life was spent on two feet, albeit small feet. Now, she had no feet, and had to slither to get anywhere. During her first few days as a serpent, she had difficulties moving at the same speed that she used to, but kept at it with the same determination that characterized her as a Snivy or a Servine, which made Niko quite proud.

At first, Niko's other Pokémon weren't quite sure what to make of Servine's evolution. At nearly eleven feet in length, Serperior was massive relative to the others. Braviary found it amusing that the Pokémon he had known the longest, and the only one with determination to match his, was struggling with basic movements all over again. This angered Serperior, who eventually snapped and whacked Braviary in the side of the head with a leaf blade, nearly knocking the Valiant Pokémon off of the cliffside. Generally speaking, though, the other Pokémon were very kind to Serperior, and tried to help where they could with her brief "re-training" period, which she appreciated (even if she didn't express it).

The other Pokémon, on the whole, were working on new moves. Eelektrik was, like Serperior, adjusting to a new body and a new limit of power. He would, on occasion, unleash a random thunderbolt attack without realizing it. Once, he accidentally picked a fight with Druddigon for this random release of electricity. Niko again found himself having to break up another fight.

Boldore, Litwick, and Braviary were all trying to learn new moves while the trio travelled down route 13. Boldore—who was trying to master stealth rock—seemed to be getting the move down-pat, but had difficulty on his release time, which Niko continuously emphasized as important. Litwick was trying to get the hang of inferno, which was an enormously powerful fire attack, but couldn't manage to muster the amount of fire necessary for the move to be effective. Nevertheless, she kept going. Lastly, Braviary was learning a move called crush claw, and seemed to have little difficulty while they were moving towards Undella Town.

As usual, Charlotte and Warren would aid Niko if he wanted someone else to battle with. Usually Warren stepped up, since Charlotte didn't believe—much to Niko's disagreement—that she could actually provide a real challenge to him. This nearly sparked an argument between the two, and would have escalated to a shouting match had Warren not interfered.

"Guys…we don't need to fight. We're all part of a team here, and we all have our own skills that make this journey work out." He said, trying to calm down Niko and Charlotte.

"But he keeps asking for our help when he knows we can't give it to him!" Charlotte snapped. "It seems like he just gets a kick out of us losing."

"That's not true at all!" Niko shouted back.

"I don't know why you're getting mad at me! You started this!"

"I started this? You're the one complaining about how 'weak' you are as a trainer! How did I start anything?"

"By even mentioning it in the first place! It wasn't necessary! Look, I know I'm not good at battling. Deerling and Smeargle don't have as much experience under their belt as, say, Serperior. But don't go around acting like we can help you when we can't! It almost sounds arrogant."

"Arrogant? Really!?" Niko spat back. " _I'm_ arrogant? Have you _met_ Hunter?"

"Hunter is a class-A douchebag, Niko! And don't think that because I called you arrogant that you're even on the same level as he is! You can be both arrogant and not as arrogant as he is." Charlotte said. She then grabbed her book, and Deerling and Smeargle's pokéballs, and stormed off towards the beach below their campsite.

"Where are you going?" Niko asked, although it came off as more of a demand.

"To get some peace and quiet!" she shouted back, not even thinking to look back at Niko and Warren. Once she was out of sight, Niko collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

"I hate arguing, Warren…" He said. "It makes me feel light-headed. And…it's just exhausting on so many levels."

"I get that. She probably feels the same way. But we all deal with anger and conflict differently."

"Did I seriously do anything wrong?" Niko said, looking up with a guilty expression.

"No, but neither did she. Look, I think she's just unhappy with her performance in Lacunosa Town. When you were battling—I forget who—she mentioned to me that this was her first ever tournament for Pokémon battling, besides the occasional competition in school. But the difference was that it was with Pokémon that she had built real relationships with, and she felt like she did them a disservice by losing."

"So…she's upset by losing…I get that. I mean, I really do."

"I know you do. Which is why I don't fault you either. She's mad about something else, and you had no context for why she was angry in the first place. It was just a friendly argument, the way I see it." He said, sitting next to Niko and overlooking the ocean. "She has a good heart, and it's usually in the right place. But, like the two of us, she has her moments, right?"

"Indeed. We all do." Niko said, staring off at the ocean, sparkling under the shining sun in the sky.

* * *

Charlotte sat on the sand, only feet from the water. Her shoes were off and placed in the wet, hardened sand at the water's edge. To her left and right were Deerling and Smeargle. She tried reading her book, but stopped after a while. Too much was going on in her head.

"Guys…I'm sorry." She eventually said. "I shouldn't have entered that tournament. It was a mistake, and…I don't know. I'm not cut out to be a trainer, I guess." She then felt Deerling rubbing his nose against her. It tickled a little. "Hehe, stop that…" She said softly. "I'm just confused. I wish I was as adept as Niko at this, or as carefree as Warren. I don't feel like I belong sometimes, and I don't know what I want to do with my life, really."

Deerling and Smeargle continued listening, unsure of what to make of their trainer's monologue.

"But I love travelling, and having got the chance to meet you, Deerling. And Niko, and Warren, and all of their Pokémon. I just wish that I could contribute more sometimes, or at least have something else to occupy my time with other than this book." She said, staring down at her ever-helpful book on the Unova region.

She was about to continue talking when Smeargle poked her in the side. Turning to her right, she noticed something off in the distance. It was small, and pink-colored. It looked to be about four-feet in length, and was pale. Very pale.

"What's that?" She wondered, standing up. She motioned for Smeargle and Deerling to follow, and they did. It took them only a minute to reach the Pokémon, but when they did, Charlotte was able to get a better idea of what exactly she was looking at.

It was a jellyfish-like Pokémon. It had a round, pale pink head with a rounded crown-like tuft on the top, and five tentacle-like appendages. It had oval eyes with white pupils, and a collar around its neck. Lastly, it appeared to have blue eyes with red sclera and a curled eyelash on each eye. Its collar was frilled, and it was passed out.

" _Frillish, the Floating Pokémon. Water and ghost type. If its veil-like arms stun and wrap a foe, that foe will be dragged miles below the surface, never to return_." Charlotte's pokédex said in its usual monotone voice.

"It looks like there are gender differences between them…so since this one is pink, that means it's a female. Either way, what is it doing unconscious on a beach?" She looked at her Pokémon. "It was probably attacked or something, and barely managed to escape. Smeargle, Deerling, can you help me get this Frillish back to our camp? I don't think I can carry it on my own."

With the help of her Pokémon, Charlotte managed to take Frillish back to Niko and Warren, who both stood up immediately upon the sight. At first, they had several questions, but Charlotte ignored all of them until Frillish was besides their campfire and on a blanket.

"Ironically, it might need some water. And…it looks like its cut in some places. Warren, can Leavanny help patch her up?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes. Leavanny!" Warren said, calling out to the Nurturing Pokémon, who was in the middle of a game with Braviary, Druddigon, and Pidove. "We need some help healing this Frillish that Charlotte found. Can you patch her up?"

Leavanny nodded, and quickly got to work while Charlotte got some water. Due to the heat of the campfire, Frillish eventually woke up and, unsurprisingly, began to look around in genuine surprise.

"Hi, Frillish. I'm Charlotte, and this is Warren. I found you passed out on a beach, and brought you back to my camp to help heal you up." She said softly. "You're probably very confused, but don't worry about it. We're just here to help."

Frillish slowly nodded, at first seeming skeptical. Charlotte then gave her some water, and Leavanny finished patching her up with silky bandages. To no surprise, Frillish was feeling a little better, eventually hugging Charlotte.

"Ow…ow…those tentacles…are strong." She said, gasping for air. Frillish let go, looking apologetic. "It's totally fine! I'm just glad you're alright. Will you be able to get home from here?"

The Frillish looked around, clearly unsure of where she was. Charlotte then pointed in the direction of the ocean. Frillish shook her head in response. She did not know how to get home, if she had one at all.

"Oh…" Charlotte said in despair. "I'm sorry that you—err—don't have a home to go back to."

"Then why doesn't she just join you?" Niko suggested. He had been silent for much of the recovery process for Frillish, admiring Warren and especially Charlotte for taking the lead on this. Not that he was acting high-and-mighty—if he was honest with himself, he didn't really know what to do or how he could have contributed.

Charlotte thought about her friend's idea for a moment before looking at Frillish, who was floating just at her eye level. "Do you…?"

Frillish shrugged before smirking a little. She looked like she would be interested in this.

"Well, we're travelling throughout the Unova region. If you're interested in seeing more of the world, then I'd love to have you come with us. We've met a lot of cool—and even dangerous—people and Pokémon along the way." When Frillish didn't respond, Charlotte pulled out an empty pokéball. "Here, you can choose now if you want. I'll be fine with whatever decision you make."

Frillish then touched the middle of the pokéball, eventually turning a bright red and going inside of it. The ball sat in Charlotte's outstretched hand that she gradually brought closer to her. It wiggled around in her palm a few times before ultimately clicking. She caught a Frillish.

"Great job, Charlotte." Niko said, walking over to her. "And…I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier. Warren told me about the tournament. I—I didn't know how it affected you."

"Niko, don't worry about it. I'm feeling a little better about it. Plus, what friendship would be without the occasional arguments? I'm also sorry for snapping at you. I shouldn't have."

"Well, I'll try to take your feelings about battling into account next time. Promise." He then held out his fist. Charlotte smiled, and bumped it in return. "Great. I don't know about you, but arguing makes me hungry." He said with a light laugh.

"Same here, oddly enough." Charlotte said, sending out Frillish again to introduce her to all of the Pokémon. A day characterized by argument and slight panic ended up better than either Niko, Charlotte, or Warren had envisioned.


	42. The psychic's revenge

**Episode 42: The psychic's revenge**

After days of travelling down route 13, the group finally arrived in Undella Town. Niko's first impression was how small of a town it was. From their vantage point at the top of a hill overlooking the town and bay, Niko could easily see the entirety of Undella Town.

Since Charlotte caught Frillish on a beach on route 13, the group had continued as normal, with nothing of note happening. Niko continued training, occasionally with the help of Warren—and now a more enthusiastic Charlotte. His Pokémon were beginning to master a variety of new moves, and Serperior was quickly adjusting to her new serpentine body. It is also worth noting that the weather was significantly nicer, and the air was crisp and easier to breathe in, as opposed to the cold air that they had grown accustomed to during much of their journey through western Unova.

"So…think we'll spend a day here? Two tops?" Niko said.

"A day sounds fine. Doesn't look like there's much to do here." Charlotte replied as they entered Undella Town. "I read up on this place. Apparently it's more of a 'summer getaway' for rich people, which explains why it's so empty right now."

"Yeah, we're just now getting into spring…" Niko said. "But it's certainly beautiful. Looks just like one of those vacation resorts you see on TV."

"That's because this _is_ that vacation resort." Warren added. "Remember the one we saw in that commercial? That was Undella Town!"

"Looked familiar enough." Niko said with a smirk. They found their way to the Pokémon Center to let their Pokémon rest while they toured the town and bay.

As they walked out, Niko noticed two oddly familiar women. One had long, blonde hair that stretched down to her knees. She usually wore all black, but it appeared that she exchanged it this time for a white dress shirt and black slacks, and abandoned the coat Niko had seen her in. Beside her was another, less familiar figure. She wore a light pink sun dress, and had more hair on her head than Niko had ever seen. At first, he didn't understand the relation between the two women, but upon further consideration it all seemed to make sense to him.

"Niko…?" Warren said, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. "You alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Niko replied. "I just recognize those two women over there."

"You _do_?" Charlotte said with genuine surprise. "You know Champion Cynthia and Elite 4 Caitlin?"

"Elite…oh, yeah she is a member of Unova's Elite 4." Niko said, remembering her Valet—Darach—briefly mention it. "And yes, I've met both of them before." And it didn't take long for them to recognize him.

"Niko…?" Cynthia said in her calm, melodic voice. "That can't be you, can it?" She walked over to him. "You…look older."

"Oh, the facial hair. And…the longer hair. I'm just trying to imitate you, that's why." To this Cynthia laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"I stay here on occasion with my good friend Caitlin." She said. "Caitlin, this is Niko. Niko, this is Caitlin of the Elite 4."

"We've met before. He defeated my Valet." Caitlin muttered, clearly peeved by this.

"Ah, that's correct. You and Lauren challenged the Battle Frontier. Caitlin did mention a couple that defeated Darach. I heard Lauren accepted a position as a Frontier Brain, is that correct?"

"I—I wouldn't have known that, actually. We broke up after she was offered it." Niko said, looking down at the sandy surface of Undella Town.

"That must explain why she isn't with you in Unova." Cynthia said. "Well, I would like to catch up with you, if you'd like."

"Sure, I'd be fine with that." Niko said. Cynthia and Caitlin then led them down the street, towards a villa that overlooked Undella Bay. Niko's friends were appalled by how extravagant the villa was. Niko wasn't too surprised—he'd seen the Battle Castle before, and understood that it was technically Caitlin's home as well.

They all sat down on a balcony on the second floor of the villa. The view was breathtaking. Warren and Charlotte simply stood at the barrier of the balcony, watching Wingull and Ducklett flying over the sea. Occasionally, a Mantyke or Mantine would appear out of the water as well. A butler then appeared and offered the group tea, to which everyone readily accepted.

"So…Niko." Cynthia said as she sat down across from Niko at their table. Caitlin was to her right, and Warren and Charlotte to her left. "How have you been? The last time I remember seeing you was at Lily of the Valley, during your battle with…what was his name again…?"

"Hunter." Niko said curtly.

"Right. Hunter. Odd young man. He seemed troubled."

"He still is." Niko responded, just as quickly and plainly.

"Anyway, after that you went to Battle Island. How did that go?"

"Well, I ended up only winning four of the five Battle Prints. I lost once to Palmer and then forfeited my rematch. Lauren won and, as you know, was offered a Frontier Brain position, and I guess she accepted it. But after my forfeit I broke up with her, and the following morning my father passed away."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that…" Cynthia said, looking sympathetic. "I hope your family is doing alright."

"I don't know, actually. I left Pallet Town a few days after that, and haven't spoken to anyone since."

"Niko…why would you do that? You should know there is rarely anything more important than family." Cynthia said, almost in a scolding tone.

"I'm not happy with what I did, to be sure. But I did do it, and that's how I ended up here. I gave up being a Pokémon trainer for some time, until my roommate, Warren, persuaded me to get back into it."

"Ah. My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. Warren, I'm Cynthia, champion of the Sinnoh League."

"Hi…" Warren said, almost as if he was out of breath. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And you are…?" Cynthia asked, turning to Charlotte.

"Charlotte. Pleased to meet you as well."

"And so you're travelling now with these two?" Cynthia wondered. "Challenging gyms again? Or did something else catch your eye?"

"Gyms again. I have seven badges, and we're on our way to Humilau so I can get my eighth."

"Ah, you're almost done yet again. Humilau is a wonderful city, right Caitlin?"

"Marlon is too eccentric for my taste, but the city is nevertheless beautiful." She said, eying Niko. "Marlon, if you don't know, is the gym leader there. He's…an acquired taste."

"And so that must mean you intend to compete in Vertress City?" Cynthia asked. When Niko nodded in the affirmative, she smiled. "I'm glad you're continuing with your journey, Niko. I always enjoyed getting a chance to watch you battle." She turned to Charlotte and Warren. "He is a good person. Him and his friends helped me stop a resurgent Team Galactic."

"Yeah, Niko told us about the Distortion World!" Warren said excitedly.

"Ah, yes…that. What an interesting…place." Cynthia said, almost frowning a little. " I actually have to get back to Sinnoh in a few days' time—the next Lily of the Valley Conference is approaching. But I do wish you the best of luck in Vertress City."

"Thanks, Cynthia. I appreciate it."

"And who knows? Maybe you'll win it, and get the opportunity to battle Caitlin here." Cynthia said teasingly. To this Caitlin frowned a little.

"I'd pummel you into the ground for defeating Darach." She muttered.

"I wholeheartedly accept that challenge." Niko said, smirking. This seemed to set Caitlin off. She forcefully placed her tea on the table and stared at him.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle. Right now." She said in a prudish tone. "One-on-one, that way I can prove to you that I am not one to be teased."

"Fine. I accept." Niko said, also putting his tea down. Cynthia, Warren, and Charlotte all exchanged looks, confused by the confrontation they had just witnessed. "I need to go grab my Pokémon from the Center, but I am otherwise ready."

"Humph. You're not ready until you have your Pokémon by your side." Caitlin said, getting up.

* * *

Niko and Caitlin reunited on a battlefield outside her villa. The sun was on its way towards the west. Cynthia acted as a surrogate referee, while Warren and Charlotte watched from a distance.

"Gothitelle, I choose you." Caitlin said calmly, throwing out a pokéball onto the field. It was a humanoid Pokémon with a primarily black body. Its head is teardrop-shaped, with a white, bow-like fixture attached to the base of its tip. It had a purple face with a black zigzag pattern above its eyes that resembled bangs. Its eyes were heavy-lidded with blue irises and white pupils, as well as a small mouth with red lips. Four flat, black disks flank each side of its head. Lastly, its body was split into four progressively-larger tiers, with its head and arms being attached to the smallest, uppermost tier. Its arms were thin, ending in small, purple hands with white disks at the wrists. Each tier had a white, bow-like fixture on its front.

" _Gothitelle, the Astral Body Pokémon. Psychic type. It can see the future from the movement of the stars. When it learns of its trainer's life span, it cries in sadness_."

"Druddigon, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his dragon type, much to Cynthia's surprise. "Use night slash!"

"Gothitelle, shadow ball!" Caitlin commanded. The Astral Body Pokémon conjured an inky black ball and shot it at Druddigon, who quickly slashed through it and slashed again at Gothitelle. Landing on his feet, Druddigon looked around, quickly noticing his opponent was not there. "Psychic!"

Druddigon suddenly felt himself hovering in the air. Then, Gothitelle slammed him into the ground. And again. And again. Caitlin commanded her Pokémon to use another shadow ball, which hit Druddigon in the back.

"Dragon tail!" Niko commanded. Druddigon got back up and rushed at Gothitelle, his tail emitting a purple aura. This time, he managed to land the hit, but not before Gothitelle used another psychic. This one seemed more powerful than the first, launching Druddigon backwards like a rocket. The Cave Pokémon collided with a nearby tree, nearly breaking it down. He landed on the grass below him, now having difficulty with getting back onto his feet.

"Druddigon, can you continue?" Niko asked. His dragon nodded, slowly standing back up. Smirking, Niko continued as well. "Use night slash!"

Druddigon opened his wings and began gliding toward Gothitelle, who conjured a series of shadow balls, most of which managed to miss Druddigon, who weaved in and out of them before closing in on his opponent. Then, Caitlin commanded Gothitelle to use psychic. The Astral Body Pokémon picked Druddigon up with its mind and threw him into the air, letting go just as Druddigon was descending back towards the ground. The Cave Pokémon crashed onto the battlefield, now unable to move.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Gothitelle is the winner!" Cynthia declared. Niko returned Druddigon and looked up at Caitlin with a smile.

"Guess you got your revenge." He said, smirking.

"I did. I will tell Darach as soon as I get back to my castle that I avenged his loss." She said, returning Gothitelle as well. "But I am somewhat impressed that you managed to keep up. Your Druddigon is by no means strong, but it has moxie."

"Yeah, he does." Niko said, fondly looking at Druddigon's pokéball. The sun was now setting. "Anyway, Warren, Charlotte, and I should get going. It was great getting to catch up with you again, Cynthia."

"Oh, would you like to stay for dinner?" She asked, turning to Caitlin for an affirmative. The Elite 4 member nodded, albeit with some hesitation.

"Sure, that works?" Niko said uncertainly to his friends, who both eagerly nodded. "Yes, we would love to."

* * *

The dinner with Cynthia and Caitlin was filled with conversation and the occasional laughter. After, Niko and his friends retired back to the Pokémon Center for the night, where they sat with their Pokémon and reflected on the day. The following morning, they would cross Undella Bay and travel through the Marine Tube to Humilau, eventually arriving in the city by midday, according to Charlotte.

The Marine Tube was an underwater pathway that was built using "cutting edge technology." Charlotte began rattling off facts from her book while she, Niko, and Warren walked through it. According to her, the tube was made of 9.8-inch glass that was built to withstand high water pressure and contact with large Pokémon—to this, Niko pointed to a Wailord that then swam high above them.

"It was also made above the ground and then lowered into the water!" She said excitedly. "Guys…this is _so cool_." She looked up, watching the various water type Pokémon. They primarily saw Mantine and another Pokémon called Alomomola swimming above, with the occasional Wailord as well.

Soon enough, they saw the tube leading upwards and, within half an hour Niko, Warren, and Charlotte were looking out onto Humilau City.


	43. An old friend

**Episode 43: An old friend**

Humilau City was largely a resort city, characterized by the buildings floating on the water, almost looking like small islands in the eastern sea. In fact, half of the city sat on these islands. The exceptions were the much larger, nonresidential buildings, such as the Pokémon Center, the Humilau City Gym, and some small stadium-like building that sat in the southern part of the city, along with a variety of small businesses.

The first thing they did was head to the Pokémon Center to get a room for the night—Niko anticipated only having to stay there for a night, possibly two. He was that confident in his abilities to win this final gym, regardless of the type specialty of the gym leader.

However, as soon as he entered he immediately froze, nearly causing Charlotte and Warren to run into him from behind. They both looked at Niko with curiosity, unsure why he stood completely still, his face contorted in confusion.

Just ahead of them, talking to Nurse Joy, was a brunette woman of roughly average height. She wore her hair down, and had a floral t-shirt and denim shorts on, with sandals to complete the look. As soon as she turned to exit, she also froze.

"Niko?"

"Brittany?"

The two continued to stand there for a moment, still unsure of how to react to one another. Warren attempted to whisper to Charlotte, only to be silenced quickly.

"Uh…hi." Niko eventually said, walking up to shake Brittany's hand. Instead, he got a firm embrace from his old friend.

"I've missed you." Brittany said, not letting go for a while. "We were all worried about you."

"O—oh…" Niko said, waiting until Brittany let go.

"Wow…we have so much to catch up on!" She said excitedly. She seemed to be treating everything as if it were normal. As if nothing had changed. Almost…as if Niko had never left. "C'mon! Let's go get lunch!"

"O-okay…" Niko said, allowing himself to be dragged by Brittany. He quickly motioned for Warren and Charlotte to follow him, and they did without question.

Brittany eventually led him to a small diner on the water, just off the coast of the island Humilau was situated on. They quickly sat down and ordered food. Then, Brittany put her hands on the table and looked at Niko.

"What happened to you?" She asked, almost in a demanding tone. It was a stark change from her previously cheery demeanor earlier. "Where did you go? Why did you not go to your dad's funeral? And what are you doing here?"

Niko took a deep breath. "First of all, I'm very sorry I—"

"Sorry doesn't begin to cover it, Niko! You abandoned your family! Your mother was an absolute _wreck_ after the funeral, when she realized you had gone. Jake was erupting in rage. And your Pokémon…they were the saddest I've ever seen them! We spent the rest of the summer consoling everyone, all because you couldn't face the music!"

"Who's 'we?'"

"Me, Fay, JJ, even Elliot at one point. Lauren stopped by Pallet Town to see _you_ , and of course you were nowhere to be seen. We had to explain that to her, too."

"It sounds like, no matter what I say, you won't forgive me." Niko said in an oddly defeatist tone.

"I don't even know where you went or _why_ you left? What's there to forgive? If you mean consoling literally everyone that cares about you, then no. I don't forgive you. Not yet."

"Then I have nothing to say to you." Niko said, crossing his arms.

"Nothing? You're not going to answer my questions?"

Niko took another heavy sigh. "I quit being a Pokémon Trainer. That's why I left—I needed to escape. I had had it—Hunter, forfeiting to Palmer, breaking up with Lauren, and then my Dad's death—I had no will to continue onwards. I felt like everything in my life was a falling apart, and that I was a failure. So I left Pallet Town, and moved to Castelia City, here in Unova. That's where I met these two." He pointed to Warren and Charlotte, who were sitting on both sides of him. "Warren, Charlotte: this is Brittany. We travelled together for some time. Brittany, these are the people I've been travelling with recently."

"Pleasure." Brittany said curtly. "And…I just don't get why you gave up on everything. Why didn't you just stay home and raise Pokémon, instead of battling with them?"

"Because everything in Pallet Town reminded me of what I saw as my own failure, Brittany!" Niko said, slamming his fist on the wooden table. "I don't expect you understand that, or to sympathize with it, or even to forgive me, but that was my reasoning!" He then calmed down a little. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, yes it does." Brittany said quietly.

"Why are _you_ in Unova?" Niko asked.

"Pokémon Contests, actually."

"They have those here?" Niko wondered in surprise.

"Yes, Niko. They do." She turned to Charlotte and Warren, who were both confused. "I'm a coordinator, by the way."

"I guess I just didn't notice them when we were passing through…" Niko admitted, shrugging. "How is that going?"

"Good. Contests are new here, compared to Hoenn and Sinnoh, but my Pokémon and I are doing well. We have two of the three ribbons necessary to enter the Grand Festival, which is being held in Nimbasa City in a few weeks' time."

"That isn't too far from here." Charlotte said. "You just go south from Undella Town, and then west."

"Precisely. But there is a contest here in Humilau this evening. It's one of the last ones in the region before the Grand Festival, so the stakes are high for me."

"Well, you've always met them." Niko said, this time with a smirk. "Miss 'Top Coordinator.'"

"Woah, you're a Top Coordinator?" Charlotte said in wonder.

"Mhmm. In Sinnoh, too." Niko said. It was clear Brittany wasn't going to readily admit it. But she did smile shyly in response. "She's very talented, and so are her Pokémon."

"Thanks, Niko. I appreciate that. It's in the Contest Hall at the southern part of the city, if you three want to come and watch it. It's actually in a few hours."

"Sure! I've never seen a Pokémon Contest in person before!" Warren said. Charlotte nodded in agreement, also with an eager smile. Lastly, Niko nodded too, but without a smile.

* * *

"Welcome, one and all, to the Humilau City Pokémon Contest!" A young woman in a floral dress and sandal-esque high-tops said into her microphone. "I'm your host, Alana, and today we've got coordinators from all over Unova and beyond competing with style and grace befitting a coordinator. For those of you who might not know about Pokémon Contests, let's run through the different parts…"

As it turned out, the Pokémon Contests in Unova were strikingly similar to those in Hoenn and Sinnoh. Niko didn't really notice much of a difference in them. Alana then proceeded to call out nearly a dozen different coordinators, all from around the region—Castelia, Lacunosa, Striaton City—each demonstrating a different type of Pokémon and style of performance. At one point one of the coordinators was flying through flaming hoops with the assistance of his Pokémon, one that Niko didn't quite recognize but looking like a fire and flying type.

Eventually, it was Brittany's turn. She sent out a Blastoise, which Niko had no idea evolved. He smiled at the sight of the Shellfish Pokémon standing on stage with his trainer. Niko distinctly remembered meeting it as a small Squirtle. Now, it was fully evolved and, from the looks of it, incredibly powerful.

Brittany's performance involved Blastoise shooting hydro pumps into the air and then using a combination of skull bash and rapid spin to blast them away. It was, in Niko's opinion, not Brittany's best performance, but it was enough to garner applause from the audience.

Warren loved the performances, constantly talking to Niko and Charlotte about how wonderful they were. It got to the point where Niko had to put his finger up to his mouth to silence his friend, but smirked because he nevertheless appreciated then enthusiasm for his friend, from his friend.

"And that concludes the Performance Round! Now, let's see which coordinators advance to the Battle Round! Remember, in this contest, only eight will proceed!" Alana said excitedly. The audience and, presumably, Brittany in the back room, all watched as the profiles of eight coordinators revealed themselves.

Brittany, fortunately, was one of them. She was up against a young, redheaded woman who Alana later revealed to be from Aspertia City.

"For our first match in the Battle Round, please give a round of applause for Sara from Aspertia City, and Brittany from Vermillion City!" Alana said excitedly. Both Sara and Brittany walked onto the raised platform, and began to battle.

"Escavalier, I choose you!" Sara shouted, summoning an insectoid Pokémon with a knight's helmet that sported red horsehair and a visor underneath. It was seated in a metallic snail-like shell, and bore two red-striped protrusions that resembled jousting lances.

"Blaziken, I choose you!" Brittany called out. Smirking, she began the match. "Blaze kick!"

"Escavalier, iron head!" Sara commanded. However, the blaze Pokémon was far quicker, closing the distance between them in seconds before spinning around and slamming her foot into the side of Escavalier's body, launching it into the ground on the edge of the battlefield. "Err…slash!"

"Blaziken, flare blitz!" Brittany shouted. The fire type lit herself on fire and charged at Escavalier once more, this time engulfing it in flames as she dragged her opponent across the ground. Style points seemed irrelevant in this match, as it was quickly decided in Brittany's favor.

"Escavalier is unable to battle, Blaziken is the winner! And Brittany will proceed to the semifinals!" Alana said with a cheer, throwing up an arm in Brittany's direction.

"Wow…she's good at battling, too." Charlotte added, turning to Niko.

"She's had a lot of practice." He said, chuckling a little. "And her Blaziken has only gotten stronger, too."

They continued to watch the other three battles in the first matches of the Battle Round, eventually deciding the final four coordinators who would proceed. In these matchups, Brittany and her new opponent would go second, and so Niko and his friends sat through a match between a Serperior and a Raichu, in which the Raichu ultimately won by out-styling the Serperior.

 _If my own Serperior had seen this, she wouldn't have been happy_ , Niko thought to himself. They then noticed Brittany and her opponent—a young, dark-skinned male named Ken, walk onto the field. While Ken sent out a Lunatone, Brittany went with a new choice, one that Niko hadn't seen before.

"Dewott, I choose you!" Brittany shouted, summoning a blue-skinned otter-like Pokémon with two seashells on each side of its legs. "Use razor shell!"

Dewott grabbed the seashells from its waist and quickly tossed them both at Lunatone, who reeled from the attack before using a psychic attack in response. It picked Dewott into the air and threw it around before using a move called cosmic power, which created a mock representation of space around it. It was a lovely move to use in a contest, at least from Niko's perspective. He then saw Dewott shoot off of the ground, covered in a coat of water, and crash into Lunatone, knocking it to the ground.

"Water pulse!" Brittany commanded. Dewott cried out, conjuring an all-too familiar pulsating blue orb and collapsing it on Lunatone's face, splashing water everywhere. "Now, aqua shell!"

"Huh? That isn't a move…" Charlotte said curiously.

"Just wait…" Niko said, figuring that it was likely a combination move. He was right; Dewott leapt back into the air with aqua jet before sticking both of its hands out of the water and taking a quick dive towards Lunatone. Dewott then began to spin, with white tendrils releasing from the seashells as they spun around in circles, creating white twists and twirls in the air before the Discipline Pokémon crashed into Lunatone, completely depleting its yellow bar on the monitor above them. Niko smiled.

"Lunatone is unable to battle, Dewott is the winner! And Brittany will now proceed to the final round of the Humilau City Pokémon Contest!" Alana cheered.

Niko could hear Brittany congratulating her Dewott before returning it and waiting for her eventual final opponent. It was then that he reflected on Brittany's performances. It was clear to him that she was no longer the shy, socially introverted young girl he had met four and a half years ago on the S.S. Anne. She was now a Top Coordinator in a region, and likely ranked as one of the best active coordinators in the world because of it. And she was _his_ friend!

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to announce the finalists for this contest! Brittany from Vermilion City and, from Humilau City…Adora!"

A pale-skinned, dark-haired, short girl appeared on the stage opposite of Brittany. She wore large, thin-rimmed and trendy-looking glasses. For her choice of Pokémon, she summoned an unfamiliar Pokémon called Lilligant. It was a short, green Pokémon with a pale green, plant-like dress and a scarlet flower on its head.

"Vespiquen, I choose you!" Brittany shouted, summoning her Beehive Pokémon. "Use sweet scent!"

"Quiver dance~" Adora said in a melodic tone. Lilligant then began to slowly dance back and forth cheerfully. Niko watched as the crowd—including Warren—marveled at the show Lilligant was putting on for them. It seemed to decrease Brittany's yellow bar—an indication of how well her performance in the battle was—a little bit. By contrast, Adora's bar went down by less, despite the powerful allure of sweet scent.

"Attack order!" Brittany shouted. Vespiquen then commanded a horde of bees to attack, to which Adora and Lilligant retaliated with a petal dance from the latter, blocking most of the bees. As it turned out, though, this was all a façade—Vespiquen charged forward and bit down onto Lilligant with bug bite, picking the Flowering Pokémon into the air and tossing it. "Now, attack order!"

Vespiquen then unleashed a second horde of bees at Lilligant just as she was about to descend back to the ground. Finally, Brittany commanded her Vespiquen to use power gem. The Beehive Pokémon obliged, conjured small pink rocks from underneath her abdomen and shooting them at Lilligant at a close range. This created a small explosion that repelled both of them in opposite directions.

Brittany's bar was now higher than Adora's, since the latter's Pokémon has now taken significantly more damage, and was also slower to get up than Vespiquen, who used sweet scent once more before finishing off with another power gem.

"Lilligant is unable to battle, Vespiquen is the winner! And the victory in the Humilau City Pokémon Contest is Brittany!" Alana announced excitedly, once more throwing her arm up in Brittany's direction.

Niko and his friends all clapped loudly—Warren even verbally cheered. Brittany, who had just finished hugging her Vespiquen, turned to see her friend and flashed a brief smile before turning to Alana to receive her ribbon.

Brittany met up with Niko and his friends in the lobby, where the latter gave her a brief hug. "Congrats, buddy. You earned it. And you're going to the Grand Festival!"

"I am, I'm so excited!" Brittany said. "Thanks for coming to watch, by the way. I really appreciate it."

"It was so cool!" Warren said, hardly able to contain his own excitement. "Your Pokémon are hella impressive!"

"Thanks, Warren." Brittany said, side-hugging Niko's friend.

* * *

Later that evening, just after sunset, Niko found Brittany sitting out on a ledge by the Pokémon Center, overlooking to sea to the east. Sitting down next to her, he sat there and watched Pelipper and Wingull fly past them in the distance.

"Every time I see a Pelipper, I think of Melinda." Niko said quietly.

"Really?" Brittany asked. Niko nodded in response.

"Yeah. It's weird how fast time moves by. That was only a couple years ago, but to me it seems like an eternity."

"Time is certainly weird like that."

"…I really am sorry, about everything. I didn't consider how all of you would feel. I only thought about myself, and it was selfish of me." Niko admitted. "I know that actions speak louder than words, but I do regret it."

"Niko, we all make mistakes. I'm sorry for raging at you like I did. I didn't take time to consider that you've had so much time to think about all of it. And I can tell you're trying to atone for it."

"I am. I just…don't know if I can even go back to Pallet Town now. Would Jake ever forgive me? Would my Pokémon accept me as their trainer again?"

"I think they would." Brittany said, patting Niko's shoulder. "It might take some time, and obviously some will forgive you faster than others." She leaned over to the side and laid her head on Niko's shoulder. "But they will all take you back in time. I'm sure of it. As for Jake…when I left Pallet Town he was pretty miffed. Like, even the mention of your name was enough to set him off."

"Geez." Niko said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I know. We kind of all were like that. Except your mom. She never stopped loving you, and in fact she was more miserable because she didn't know where you were, rather than you ignoring your dad's funeral and abandoning everyone."

"Hmm." Niko said. Brittany finally took her head off of his shoulder.

"So…you're challenging gyms, then?" Niko nodded. "And I assume that's why you're here—because there's a gym here, too?"

"Yeah. It's my eighth and final one." Niko said with a half-smile.

"And that means the Unova League is coming up…?"

"Yeah! It'll be hard, though, with just the Pokémon I'm raising now. But I think we'll go far. They're really awesome, Brittany. I've met some quality Pokémon here in Unova."

"I'm glad to hear that, Niko. I think you could win a Pokémon League here. Especially with your reserves."

" _If_ they even want to battle with me again."

"And I think they will. But you'll have to have a real, hard discussion with them." She said with an empathetic expression.

"I will when the time is right." Niko said. "Hey, since you invited me to your contest, would you like to come watch my gym battle tomorrow? You'd get to see my new Pokémon in action."

"I'd love to, Niko." Brittany said, and the two simply sat there, watching the sunset and exchanging stories of their travels well into the night. Just like old times.


	44. Big waves in Humilau!

**Episode 44: Big waves in Humilau!**

The morning following Brittany's win at the Humilau City Pokémon Contest, Niko and his friends sat in a booth at the Pokémon Center, waiting for Brittany to arrive so they could walk to the gym together. During this time, Warren was asking Niko to tell stories of his adventures with Brittany and their other friends. It took Niko some time to think up some, but he eventually did. He told the story of when he and his friends were attacked by a wild Snorlax back in Kanto, which ultimately resulted in Brittany's Squirtle evolving into a Wartortle.

"That was crazy, wasn't it?" Brittany said as she sat down at the booth. "I was so scared."

"But you kicked ass." Niko said with a friendly look. "Now, would you like to meet my Pokémon?"

"I'd love to." Brittany replied, and Niko led the group out onto the practice battlefield.

"I have seven, so one of them is staying with Professor Juniper right now." Niko said. The previous night he had done another rotation, swapping one of his Pokémon out in hopes of using it in the gym battle. "So…here we go!" Niko shouted, summoning Serperior, Braviary, Boldore, Litwick, Eelektrik, and Duosion, repeating all of their names to Brittany. "Everyone, this is a longtime friend of mine—Brittany! She's going to come watch our final gym battle in Unova."

The Pokémon all looked at Brittany with a mixture of confusion and friendliness. Serperior leaned her head down to look at Brittany, glaring into her eyes for a moment before nodding, moving forward and nuzzling Brittany's shoulder.

"That means she likes you, I think." Niko said of Serperior.

"Nice to meet you, too, Serperior." Brittany said. "This is quite the team you've put together, Niko. What's your seventh?"

"A Pokémon called Druddigon. He was my first dragon type."

"Oh? You've finally caught a dragon Pokémon. And…you've got another fire type." She turned to Warren and Charlotte. "Did he ever tell you the first time he caught a fire type?"

"Yeah!" Warren said with a chuckle. "Niko…I'd pay to see that any day."

"It was scary as hell, man." Niko responded with a concerned look. "Until you've seen my Numel battle, you won't understand." Brittany nodded in affirmation.

"You should tell them sometime about your gym battle with Tate and Liza." Brittany added.

"You mean the one where Lairon launched Numel into the air so he could use magnitude on a levitating Pokémon? Yeah, that one was crazy. I didn't think it would work, to be honest."

Warren's jaw noticeably dropped. Charlotte's eyes widened a little.

"Anyway, let's go win our last badge, yeah?" Niko said, turning to his team. They all cheered wildly.

The Humilau City Gym was on the edge of the island, in a two-story, fuchsia-roofed gym. However, as soon as Niko and his friends arrived there, he noticed that the battlefield wasn't in the gym—it was on the water. This was a water-type gym.

The battlefield was a seaside one, with a boardwalk running along all sides. On both ends of the battlefield were raised platforms, ostensibly for the Gym Leader and the challenger. In the middle of the battlefield were circular, floating platforms similar to the ones Niko saw during his gym battles against Misty and Juan—the only other water type Gym Leaders that he's battled against.

"So…where's the Gym Leader?" Warren asked, looking around.

"From what I've heard, Marlon is often absent from his gym…" Brittany said, also touring the gym with her eyes.

"That's correct!" A friendly voice said from behind them. They all turned around to see a tan-skinned, dark-blue haired man standing there. He was roughly Niko's height, and wore a pair of blue-lensed goggles around his neck. He was shirtless, and wore tight-fitting, light-blue pants with two fins on each side of each leg. To complete the look, he wore sandals on his pale white feet. "Sup dudes, name's Marlon." He reached out his hand to shake each of theirs. "What's shakin'?"

"Hey, I'm Niko from Pallet Town, and I'd like to request a battle, if possible."

"Shoots! Of course, dude!" Marlon said with a wide grin. "I always love to battle people from other places! Pallet Town, eh? That's pretty far. What brings you all the way to these parts?"

"Err…interest." Niko said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Interest, eh? Right on, dude. C'mon, let's get this battle goin'! You're cool with a four-on-four gym battle, right? Cause if not, that's fine. I just like to ask cause not every trainer uses that many Pokémon."

"Fair question. Yeah, I'm fine with it." Niko said with a smirk.

"Radical. Your friends can sit over in those stands. There aren't too many seats, because I don't like making my gym battles public knowledge like others might, and it saves space to have less seating, y'know?"

"Oh, I do." Niko said. He had always been confused as to why Pokémon Gyms saved so much space for seating, when usually he and his friends took up almost none. It's why he appreciated Burgh's gym a lot.

"Cool, man. Also, Niko's friends—watch out, occasionally you might get splashed with water. Hope you're fine with that." Warren, Charlotte, and Brittany made no fuss about it and sat down in the small, wooden stands on the far edge of the battlefield. Moments later, a referee magically appeared from the fuchsia-colored house and explained the rules of the match to Niko and Marlon. "Alright, dude, let's get this going! Wailord, I choose you!" Marlon shouted, summoning a massive blue whale onto the field, creating enormous waves along the battlefield. "You ready for this?"

"Of course. Eelektrik, I choose you!" Niko shouted, throwing a pokéball onto one of the few platforms not thrown around by Wailord's body. "Use thunderbolt!"

"Wailord, ice beam!" Marlon commanded. The Float Whale Pokémon conjured a light-blue beam of ice that quickly collided with Eelektrik's thunderbolt, resulting in a stalemate. Niko then commanded the EleFish Pokémon to dive down into the water to dodge the second attack—scald—and use spark underwater. "Oh no…"

The battlefield exploded in reaction to electricity hitting water, electrocuting Wailord and temporarily paralyzing it. "Eelektrik, use thunderbolt now!" Niko commanded. The EleFish Pokémon leapt back out of the water to conjure another thunderbolt, this time striking Wailord on the top of the head. The Float Whale Pokémon collapsed into the water, now unable to move.

"That…was quick…" Brittany said. "Has Eelektrik always been that strong?"

"No. It actually just recently evolved. This is the first time it's been in a gym battle in a while." Warren said. "I think it just got lucky, though—being an electric type in a water type gym."

"Still, defeating a Wailord is impressive, because of how large it is." Brittany added.

"Wailord is unable to battle, Eelektrik is the winner! Leader Marlon will now send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Wailord, return. Well done, Niko. I'll admit, I expected an electric type eventually—I always do, but I've never been able to get around Eelektrik or Eelektross. That levitate ability." Marlon said with a friendly smile. "Carracosta, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a now-familiar Prototurtle Pokémon.

"Eelektrik, return. Serperior, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use coil!"

"Carracosta, rock slide, dude!" Marlon called out. The Prototurtle Pokémon conjured a wave of rocks that hurled down from the sky towards Serperior, who was busy curling herself up, waiting for the right moment to strike. She then leapt forward on Niko's command, her tail glowing a bright green color.

"Leaf blade, now!" Niko shouted. Serperior, having now gained full control of her body, whipping her serpentine torso around and slammed the leaf blade into Carracosta's side. The Prototurtle Pokémon then, on Marlon's command, spat out hot water in Serperior's face. The Regal Pokémon fell backwards into the water out of shock, not from the power of the attack. "Serperior!" Niko called out. _Can she swim…?_ He wondered. His Pokémon's ability to swim was never a concern of his…they were hardly ever around a body of water that required them too.

"Carracosta, rock slide!" Marlon commanded. Carracosta conjured another wall of rocks to fall down upon Serperior, who was deep in the water now. At this point, Niko wasn't sure if Serperior was hurt or not. _Where is she…?_

Suddenly, from behind Carracosta a long, pale green body rose out of the water and wrapped around the Prototurtle before glowing a bright green color. _Serperior is using giga drain!_ Niko shouted in his mind. "Serperior! Let's go!" Niko cried out, thrusting a fist into the air. The Regal Pokémon nodded to him before letting go of the Carracosta, which collapsed into the water in front of it. Serperior, Niko, and Marlon all waited for Carracosta to show signs of movement. Ultimately, it did, shooting another scald from underwater at Serperior. "Defensive leaf tornado!"

"Defensive…leaf tornado…?" Brittany asked, wondering but not entirely surprised.

"Yeah, it's something Serperior learned how to do when she was a Snivy. Totally her idea, too." Charlotte replied.

"Wow. Smart Pokémon." Brittany said.

"Niko and Serperior have a very close bond." Warren added.

"He tends to have those with his grass types…" Brittany said, thinking fondly of Niko's Venusaur.

Serperior managed to block most of the scald and, again on Niko's command, turned the leaf tornado downwards towards Carracosta, breaking through the water and hitting the Prototurtle Pokémon. This time, Carracosta made it back to the surface, but was unconscious when it got there.

"Carracosta is unable to battle, Serperior is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Marlon will now use his third Pokémon!"

"Wow! Niko…this is something else, dude!" He returned Carracosta. "I usually don't have a challenge this difficult early on. But I'm sure I can make it up here. Mantine, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Kite Pokémon.

"It's been a while since I've battle one of these. Serperior, return." Niko said. "Braviary, I choose you!"

"Braviary…? Why not Eelektrik?" Warren asked.

"Niko tends to give his other Pokémon a chance, too." Brittany added. "Especially if he's doing well, like right now. He hasn't lost a single Pokémon, and half of Marlon's team is defeated. He has room for a lot of error."

"That seems like something he would do." Charlotte added, watching the match intensely.

"Braviary, use aerial ace!" Niko commanded. The Valiant Pokémon opened his wings and glided across the battlefield, splitting the water under him due to the speed he was moving at. However, Marlon commanded Mantine to use ice beam, which hit Braviary's wing just as he was about to crash into his opponent. Instead, Braviary collapsed into the water, unable to move.

"Braviary!" Niko shouted as his eagle-like Pokémon struggled to keep above water. Mantine then used air slash to hit Braviary as he found his way onto a platform, further knocking the Valiant Pokémon across the circular platform and nearly back off of it. "Use…use hone claws!"

"Mantine, confuse ray!" Marlon shouted. Mantine then conjured a small, spinning yellow orb that floated across the water towards Braviary, hitting him in the face. The Valiant Pokémon looked around curiously, flapping his wings and cawing loudly at Niko, Marlon, Mantine, and everyone else. "Now, ice beam!"

"Braviary, listen to me!" Niko shouted. Braviary wouldn't, though, and instead got slammed with a second ice beam, which knocked Braviary onto his back. Mantine leapt into the air and used a scald which, despite thawing Braviary's frozen wing, did defeat the Valiant Pokémon.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Mantine is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"

"Return. You did your best, and I'm still proud of you for that. But we have a gym battle to win here. Duosion, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning his Mitosis Pokémon. "You ready to show off all of the training you've accomplished in Professor Juniper's lab, buddy?" Duosion turned to Niko and nodded happily. "Alright, then. Use psyshock!"

Duosion closed her eyes and conjured multiple light blue and purple orbs, spinning each of them with her mind until launching them at Mantine, one by one. The Kite Pokémon managed to dodge each one in turn before hitting Duosion with a scald attack, which the Mitosis Pokémon couldn't block against. She then turned to Niko, wincing a little, and nodded. Niko nodded back, albeit a little confused. Duosion then turned to Mantine, and conjured several rock-like objects around her before sending them into the air, where they disappeared into space.

"Future sight…" Niko said. "Duosion! Use psyshock!"

"Mantine, ice beam!" Marlon commanded. Both Pokémon launched off their moves, colliding in the middle of the field. Mantine then rose high into the air and used air slash, to which Duosion responded with hidden power, once more resulting in a stalemate.

 _We just have to bide our time…_ Niko thought to himself. "Use rollout!"

"Ice beam!" Marlon called out. Duosion then charged at her opponent, rolling through the air towards Mantine, who successfully blocked the onslaught with ice beam, halting Duosion in her tracks and causing her to drop down onto the water. Again, Niko had no idea if Duosion could swim, but he quickly discovered that the gelatinous surface protecting the Mitosis Pokémon also acted as a floating device, keeping Duosion from sinking into the battlefield below her.

"Psyshock!" Niko shouted, to which Duosion rose off of the water and unleashed small psychic orbs at Mantine, who blocked again with ice beam. _How long does future sight take…?_ Niko wondered to himself. It didn't take long for him to get an answer, for he quickly saw images projected to him from Duosion. It showed her and Professor Juniper timing the future sight, and then of Duosion herself viewing the time it took for the attack to finally hit. Then Niko understood. _Almost time, then…_ He thought to himself. Duosion nodded in response.

"Mantine, use ice beam—huh?" Marlon said, looking up. The rock-like objects appeared out of space and pelted Mantine, resulting in small explosions all around.

"Duosion, psyshock!" Niko commanded. Duosion conjured light blue and purple orbs and shot them at the Kite Pokémon, resulting in Mantine being thrown backwards, against a platform behind it and subsequently into the water below.

"Mantine is unable to battle, Duosion is the winner! Leader Marlon will now send out his fourth and final Pokémon!" The referee stated.

"Mantine, return. Well done, Niko. Totally forgot about that future sight. I'll have to take note of that. Jellicent, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a large, jellyfish-like Pokémon. He was blue with a pale blue moustache-like collar and a small crown atop his head. He had five tentacles—two on each side, and one in the back. He had red eyes with blue sclera, and one eyelash over each eye.

" _Jellicent, the Floating Pokémon. Water and ghost type_. _Its body is mostly seawater. It's said there's a castle of ships Jellicent have sunk on the seafloor._ "

"Duosion, return." Niko said. He was in a good place now, and the likelihood of him losing was small. But he couldn't take anything for granted. Since Jellicent was a ghost type—according to Charlotte's pokédex that he overheard—Duosion wouldn't be very helpful. He had Serperior and Eelektrik left. "Eelektrik, I choose you!" He eventually shouted, summoning the EleFish Pokémon. "Use thunder wave!"

"Energy ball!" Marlon commanded. Jellicent rose into the air, high above the wave of electricity running across the battlefield, and shot out a light green ball of pure energy, which hit Eelektrik and nearly knocked him off of the battlefield. "Shadow ball!"

"Thunderbolt!" Niko called out. Both Pokémon attacked at the same time, resulting in a brief explosion in the middle of the battlefield. "Now, charge beam!"

"Scald!" Marlon commanded. As soon as the hot water reacted with the charge beam, a massive explosion erupted, creating large waves along the battlefield, and rocking Eelektrik's platform. Once the smoke from the explosion settled, Eelektrik looked around in search of his opponent. Finding none, he turned to Niko for assistance.

"I don't know…" Niko said, furiously looking around as well. He then noticed something ominous-looking under the water. "Behind you!"

Eelektrik spun around just as Jellicent leapt out of the water. Instinctively, Eelektrik conjured a thunderbolt at Jellicent, who dodged the move and used a close-range shadow ball, hitting the EleFish and launching him into the water. Eelektrik began swimming around, dodging shadow and energy balls left and right, waiting for Niko to say something.

 _This thing is fast…very fast._ Niko thought to himself. He briefly considered swapping Eelektrik for Serperior, knowing fully well that the Regal Pokémon could handle this Jellicent. _No…Eelektrik can win this. I have total faith in him_. "Eelektrik, out of the water!" Niko shouted. The EleFish Pokémon jumped out, landing on the closest platform. "Use thunderbolt!"

"Jellicent, shadow ball!"

"On the water!" Niko commanded. Eelektrik re-directed his attack, causing the battlefield to react viciously, and resulting in another explosion. "Now, jump through it!" Eelektrik obeyed, slithering off of the platform and into the explosion that was now quickly dissipating. Now, it was Jellicent who was confused. Marlon commanded the Floating Pokémon to use scald to quicken the pace at which the smoke was dissipating, but it was too late—Eelektrik was now upon it. "Thunderbolt!"

"EEEEEEEL!" Eelektrik shouted loudly, conjuring a thunderbolt from the sky to rain down on Jellicent, who cried out as the electricity surged through his body. Jellicent then collapsed backwards, off of the platform it was floating above and into the water below.

"Jellicent is unable to battle, Eelektrik is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Niko let out a deep sigh of relief. He then saw Eelektrik run over to him and happily leap into his arms. "I'm really proud of you, buddy. We now have all eight gym badges because of you."

Warren, Charlotte, and Brittany all ran across the boardwalk from their stands to Niko's platform. Each hugged him in turn and congratulated Eelektrik on his wins as well.

"You did it! You're going to the Unova League!" Warren shouted in excitement.

"I am. I am." Niko said happily. He looked at Brittany, remembering the many other times he had qualified for Pokémon Leagues.

"You did amazing, Niko." She said, bringing Niko in for a second hug.

"Thanks." He replied. Just then, Marlon motioned them over towards the Fuchsia-colored house.

"Yo, Niko! What an impressive battle! You totally swept me away!" He then took a badge from the referee's hand and held it out for Niko to see. "Here, man, is the Wave Badge. Pretty sweet, right?"

Niko eyed the badge. It was light blue with a golden border, and was in the shape of a raindrop with small waves inside of it.

"Thanks, Marlon. It was a great battle." Niko said with an eager smile. "It's also my eighth, so because of this I can compete in the Unova League."

"Heck yeah you can, dude! I'll be watching from here. I wish you the best of luck, man!" He said, eagerly shaking Niko's hand.

* * *

Later that day, after getting a celebratory lunch, Niko and his friends saw Brittany off.

"I've got to head to Nimbasa City now, for the Grand Festival." She said. "But, if I have the time, I'll be sure to go back to Vertress City. If I can't, I'll certainly be watching."

"Thanks. I wish you the best of luck in the Grand Festival. Prove to Unova that you're a true Top Coordinator." Niko said. "And, if I can, I'll be sure to check it out."

"Also...do you mind me making a call to Pallet Town on your behalf?" Brittany asked. "I know you're nervous about talking to your family and Pokémon again, so I could ease you into it, if you'd like."

"I don't know…" Niko said nervously.

"I'm sure your mother and Jake would love to get a chance to watch you in Vertress City. Jake's in Johto right now, from what I remember, but I'm sure he'll try to make it if he can. And your mom could use an excuse to get out of the house."

"If you want, then sure. I won't make you do something like that for me, though." Niko said as a disclaimer.

"I'll also try to get ahold of your Pokémon. If memory serves, they're all still in Pallet Town."

"What…? They didn't leave?"

"No idea why. But yeah, they're all there I think. You might need them in the Vertress Conference, especially if Elliot and Hunter are competing as well, like you told me earlier."

"I can do it—"

"No, Niko. You can't without Venusaur and the others. I've watched you battle Hunter and Elliot. Your Unova team is strong, but not enough." Brittany said cautiously.

"Alright. Fine. When I get to Vertress City, I'll talk with them over video chat." Niko said.

"Sounds good." Brittany then walked up and gave him a hug. "I'll miss you."

"Miss you too." Niko said.

"And it was nice meeting you both." Brittany said to Warren and Charlotte. "Please…keep him in line for me, alright?"

"No promises." Warren said with a wink.

"I will." Charlotte said, returning Brittany's hug. "It was great getting to meet you."

Brittany smiled as she let go of Charlotte, and then walked off towards the Marine Tube, where she had a boat departing from Undella Town in a few hours. Niko, Charlotte, and Warren all waved as the sun was setting behind them. The following morning, they would begin their journey to their final destination—Vertress City.


	45. A pain in the cell!

**Episode 45: A pain in the cell!**

"It'll take about a week or so to get to Vertress City." Charlotte said as they sat in Humilau's Pokémon Center. The previous day, Niko defeated Marlon and won his final Unova Gym Badge, qualifying him for the Vertress Conference. "The conference begins a couple of days after that, so if we get going today we'll make it in time."

"Great." Niko said, sipping on some tea. "Gives me some time to get prepared, too."

"Nervous?" Warren asked.

"About what?"

"About competing in a Pokémon League again. From what I know about your last one, it didn't go so well."

"It…could have gone better. That's only because of Hunter, though." Niko said, shaking his head. "If I have to battle him again, I'll have to be more careful."

"Do you have a strategy if you do face him?" Charlotte asked.

"No. Haven't really thought about it. I know Serperior, of all my Pokémon, has a score to settle. She gets really amped up against his Haxorus, and I can see why."

"She's never managed to defeat a Haxorus before…" Warren noted, with a nod of confirmation from Niko. "Either way, it would do you some good to at least consider a way around his raw strength. Who knows—maybe you _could_ beat him this time?"

"I never know with him." Niko said, taking another sip. "Every time I've faced him before I thought that _that_ battle would be the one time I overcame him. But in the end it wasn't—and I got my ass handed to me. I suppose part of me has given up on trying to at least give him a run for his money."

"You shouldn't give up, Niko." Warren commented.

"And why not?" Niko said, glaring at his friend. "I don't mind not being able to beat him."

"It's not about that, though. If you're ever going to improve, then you might have to at least try." Warren argued. "You've said that one reason you quit being a Pokémon Trainer is that you weren't improving in your League performances—since those matter to you—getting Top 8 three years in a row. What if you face Hunter in the first round? Or in the Top 16? Or even in the Top 8 again? Then, if you lose, you won't improve again. And you'll beat yourself up about it."

Niko went silent.

The path to Vertress City first took them east from Humilau onto route 22. It was a mountainous path through, and the trio would soon find themselves in the midst of the mountain ranges that characterized large parts of the Unova region. It was also early spring, and the air was, just like at Undella Town, crisp. The temperature was moderate enough, which made the trip more than tolerable in Niko's mind. In some ways, it reminded him of his journeys through Kanto and Johto.

During this time, Niko began spending more time training with his Pokémon. All six of them—Druddigon was with Professor Juniper at this time—were thrilled at the chance to finally compete in a Pokémon League. Niko also wanted to help them learn some new moves, if possible.

According to Charlotte, Eelektrik could also learn coil. And so, with some help from Serperior, the EleFish Pokémon learned how to use his eel-like body to his advantage. Litwick was still working on inferno, having little success in unleashing enough firepower to successfully use the move. Serperior was trying to learn for herself new ways to use her serpentine body to give herself an advantage over her opponents. Boldore was attempting to learn a move called stone edge: a move Niko admittedly had little knowledge of teaching. And, once again, Niko noticed Duosion was having problems.

When he received Duosion from Professor Juniper with the intent of letting her battle at the Humilau Gym, the professor noted that she was having small migraines. Juniper chalked it up to her numerous attempts at learning and mastering future sight:

 _"_ _Future sight requires the user to put in a large amount of psychic energy up front. It took Duosion a while to understand this, and I think that's what has been causing some brief—but numerous—headaches."_

But Duosion had clearly shown her ability to master the attack when she used it to defeat Marlon's Mantine. _Why is she having problems now?_ Niko asked.

After exhausting all possibilities but one, Niko turned to Charlotte on the first evening of their trip. She was reading by the light of the campfire. Warren was recording their adventures of the day in his booklet. The Pokémon were nearby, either playing or training. "Hey, Charlotte."

"Hmm? What's up, Niko?"

"Does Duosion evolve?" He asked. "I think I remember someone telling me once, but I forget."

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Because Duosion is having more headaches again. If they caused her previous evolution, do you think she's beginning the evolution process all over again?"

"It's possible." Charlotte put the book down. "I think Duosion's evolution is called Reuniclus. I don't know much about it, though…" She then pulled out her pokédex to examine this "Reuniclus" Pokémon:

" _Reuniclus, the Multiplying Pokémon. Psychic type. They use psychic power to control their arms, which are made of a special liquid. They can crush boulders psychically_."

"So…she's probably evolving. Great." Niko said.

"Is that a good 'great,' or a bad one?" Charlotte asked, half-teasingly.

"Both? It's great because I want Duosion to keep getting stronger—that's why I caught her. But I also don't like how her species evolves. It just seems like an unnecessary amount of pain."

"I know. But we'll be there for her, won't we?"

"Of course. I just wish I knew how long it was going to take for her complete the evolution process." Niko said, looking over at his Pokémon. Serperior was curled up watching Braviary and Duosion play some game they made up with Boldore and Litwick. Eelektrik was sitting by Serperior watching. Occasionally, Deerling or Leavanny would join in as well, accompanied by Charlotte's new Frillish. The entire time, Duosion seemed just fine. _She also used to hide her headaches, if she could_. Niko thought.

* * *

The following morning, Niko woke up to see Serperior, Duosion, and Litwick already training. Rarely did he let his Pokémon sleep outside of their pokéballs when they were out in the open, in case of poachers (remembering his brief encounters with a poacher in the Johto region). However, he felt like his Pokémon were, at this stage, strong enough—or loud enough—to handle anything at this point, and felt more lax about his previous restrictions.

He watched them train as the sun rise behind him, off in the east and over a forest resting on the side of a mountain. It was a wonderful sight—that, and the feeling of the cold morning clashing with the heat of the sun. The entire time, he focused primarily on Duosion, watching her movements and facial expressions for any sign of difficulty. Finding none, he got up and made another attempt at cooking (he has failed multiple times at making food for his friends and Pokémon, despite putting more effort into his throughout his journey in Unova).

Later that day, after walking through route 22 for a few hours, the group stopped again to rest, seeing no rush to get to their destination. Niko continued training, this time working with Duosion on the release of her psyshock. At first, Charlotte gave Niko a wary glance, wondering what exactly he was up to.

"Duosion seems fine." He said, calming the nerves of his friend. Not convinced, Charlotte instead went to play with Deerling and Frillish. "Alright buddy, let's work on psyshock. Can you do it?" Duosion nodded. "Great! Duosion! Psyshock!"

The Mitosis Pokémon tried to conjure the multiple light blue and purple orbs that characterized the attack, only they didn't appear. Niko, confused, turned and looked at Duosion for a minute and noticed that she was wincing.

"Are…you alright?" He asked, patting the liquid surface that held Duosion's body together. She cringed this time, backing away viciously. "Woah! Sorry…are you hurting? What's wrong?" Niko then saw another flood of images run through his mind. Like with last time, none of them were making sense.

Then, Duosion collapsed onto the ground with a _thud_. Niko rushed down to pick her up, bringing her to their campsite. Hurriedly, Charlotte and Warren both laid down a blanket for the Mitosis Pokémon to rest on while they tried to figure out what was happening. During this time, Niko quickly explained what occurred.

"What do we do?" Warren shouted in a panic. Duosion was breathing slowly, as if trying to calm herself down while everyone around her was in a mad panic. Suddenly, she went silent, and so did everyone else.

"Duosion…?" Niko asked, looking down at his psychic type. She lay there, silently breathing. "She must've passed out from that." He looked away for a moment. "Guess she's evolving soon."

"And there's nothing we can do to help ease her into it?" Warren wondered.

"Guess not." Niko said, turning back to his friend. "Unless you have a suggestion." Warren shook his head. "Alright then. We'll just keep going as we usually do."

After an hour, Duosion finally woke back up, but was in a dizzy state, tilting drastically when she started to float back into the air. With the help of Niko, she managed to correct and re-orient herself and attempt to train again. This time, her trainer stopped her.

"No. No training for you. Duosion…" Niko said, looking into the eyes of the Mitosis Pokémon. "You're in pain. And I think it's because you're evolving, correct?" Duosion was silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "So you are aware of it. That's good. But anyway…you won't be doing any training until you're feeling better, got it?" Duosion nodded, and floated back to their campsite, where Frillish, Charlotte, and Deerling were sitting with Warren and Leavanny. Niko's other Pokémon were running around, either training or playing with one another.

For the rest of the day, Duosion felt alone. Niko noticed it quickly—she refused to eat or speak to anyone, much less send images to Niko via her psychic abilities. She sat away from the others, looking out off the side of a plateau they were parked on. It overlooked the valley below that the trio had traversed the first couple of days since leaving Humilau. In fact, far off in the distance lay the seaside city from their vantage point.

"Hey." Niko said, sitting next to Duosion. The Mitosis Pokémon turned away from him. "I know you're not happy with me. That's fine." He looked off at the darkened valley below. "I just want the best for you, that's all. You might not like sitting around, not participating in anything, but is it really any worse than trying to use any moves and then getting a bad headache? Do you really want to put yourself through that?"

He then saw images coming into his mind. They were of people, like Charles, Elliot, Hunter…all of Niko's rivals, as well as their Pokémon.

"You're want to beat them, don't you?" Duosion nodded at this, turning now to look at Niko. "Well, we will. I promise you that. But we can't do that if you're having these headaches! You need to be able to fight without hurting yourself, and that'll only happen when you evolve, Duosion!" He sighed heavily. "I just wish I knew when that was going to happen."

Suddenly, Duosion started cringing again before letting out an incredibly, ear-shattering screech that invaded the mind of everything around her, including Niko, who was covering his ears and shouting as well. He turned back to the campfire to see his friends doing the same. Then, somehow, he felt a wave of psychic energy hit him, knocking him several feet backwards. After rolling across the cold grass, he looked up at Duosion, who continued to pulsate psychic waves from her body. Then, as suddenly as it started, she stopped, collapsing onto the ground.

"Niko! What was that?" Charlotte shouted loudly; louder than she normally would, indicating that her hearing was shot temporarily.

"I think—" Niko said as he saw a blinding white light in his periphery. Turning, he saw Duosion begin to glow a bright white color as she began to grow. Arms shot out from both ends of her body, covered in the same green gelatinous substance as her two preceding forms. Her head was round with a thin stripe down the center. Her eyes were black and oval, with a red, triangular mouth. She had two stubby legs and arms, with round objects filling in the extended space in the gelatinous substance, which also grew three appendages on each "hand." Lastly, she had two rounded, triangular objects suspending in the gel above her head, giving off the impression of horns or ears. "—she evolved." Niko finished just as Reuniclus appeared in front of him.

Charlotte and Warren stood there in surprise, still unable to hear well. But they watched as Reuniclus floated over to hug Niko, who quickly returned the hug.

"I'm glad you finally evolved, Reuniclus." He said, looking down at the Multiplying Pokémon. "Now we can beat all of our rivals and win the Unova League! Together."

Reuniclus looked up at Niko and nodded, a fire now burning in her eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Niko and his friends continued west towards Vertress City, leaving the plateau that they were walking along and making their way lower to the ground when they saw the ground decline slightly. It didn't look like much at first, since the area was covered with trees. But as soon as Niko took a step into the decline, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Did…did you guys feel that?" He said, turning to Charlotte and Warren. They both nodded, clearly feeling it too. He then turned to continue walking but, as he did, he noticed something different about the trees. He walked up to them and touched the bark. It was charred in some places. "What the…"

Then they all heard another ear-piercing sound. But this time, it sounded like the cry of a dragon.


	46. Beyond the boundary

**Episode 46: Beyond the boundary**

"Di—did you hear that?" Charlotte asked Niko and Warren, as they all stopped dead in their tracks after hearing the piercing sound of a dragon's roar.

"Yeah…what do you think it was?" Niko wondered. "Wait…you don't think…"

"How close are we to Lacunosa town…" Charlotte said, kneeling to grab her book out of her bag. Pulling it out and examining the map of Unova, her eyes widened. "Niko…this is the Giant Chasm. It's where Kyurem is said to live."

"Then Team Plasma might be around." Niko said, turning in the direction they were already going."

"No!" Charlotte said. "We're _not_ getting involved!"

"And why not?" Niko said. "Look, if you're scared, then so am I. But we can't just—"

"You yourself told me you hate getting involved with these gangs!" Charlotte said, a serious look in her eyes. "Well, so do I."

"If Team Plasma is doing something malevolent, shouldn't we get involved?" Warren said, trying to break the tension between his two companions…and failing. "Look, it's probably dangerous, but we—"

"Niko almost _died_ last time!" Charlotte shouted. "If it weren't for Rufflet evolving, we wouldn't be here right now!"

Niko was silent for a moment. He knew Charlotte was right—he almost died, and he did dislike getting involved in these kinds of things. However, how could he pass up the opportunity to help someone, or something, out? Plus, he had a faint feeling that he would be better off by getting involved.

"Then you can go." Niko finally said. "If you don't want to get involved here, go to Vertress City, and I'll meet you there."

"Niko—"

"No. I'm going to go see what's going on, at the very least. You can come with me or not. That's your choice." Niko said before turning and walking down the path, deeper into the Giant Chasm, and leaving Warren and Charlotte behind.

"…so now what?" Warren wondered. "Are you going too?"

"I don't know…" Charlotte said.

"Well, I'll stay with you if you choose to not go." He said, sitting down next to her.

Niko walked through more charred tree trunks as he noticed the ground descend at a greater angle. Eventually, he had to stop because the incline was too much for him to walk down without tripping and sliding down into whatever lay below. Grabbing onto a tree, he tried to look past him, into the chasm. All he could see was trees ahead.

"Hmm." He eventually said, pulling out a pokéball. "Braviary, come on out." He whispered, summoning his Valiant Pokémon. "Do you think I can ride you down there, into the Giant Chasm?" Braviary thought about it for a moment, and shrugged, as if unsure. "Alright, wanna try?" They both nodded and Niko, for the first time, mounted one of his flying type Pokémon. Braviary then set off, down into the forest below.

It didn't take long for them to move out of the forest, and what Niko saw in its place was, at the very least, appalling to him. The Giant Chasm was true to its name—there was a mile-wide crater sitting there. Niko noticed small cave entrances littered around there, presumably where most of the local Pokémon lived. Trees in the center of the crater lay bare on the ground, as if the crater was the result of a recent impact. However, Niko knew it wasn't, according to the Lacunosa Legend.

Then, squinting, he noticed a small group of people—about four or five men—walking at a hurried pace towards one of the larger cave entrances in the back of the crater. Niko then whispered to Braviary to go a little lower, so he could catch a better glimpse of what he was seeing. And, as what characteristic of that day, he found himself unpleasantly surprised. The group was composed of the four men he tried pursuing at Village Bridge, plus an unfamiliar fifth man dressed in the same garb as the others.

"Let's land here." Niko whispered again. Braviary nodded, and took Niko down towards the ground, where they landed. It was much harder to see at the bottom—a thick fog floated above the ground. But Niko and Braviary continued, walking through the fog to see if they could find anything suspicious.

He then heard a twig snap nearby, causing him to pause. Niko began breathing slowly, and his heartrate increased as he tried to listen for sounds of anyone nearby. Suddenly, he heard something whizzing through the air. Braviary blocked it with air cutter, giving Niko time to turn and see what was about to attack him.

It was a sludge bomb, originating from a Muk, and owned by a Team Plasma Grunt. Niko turned to Braviary, and nodded.

"Braviary, aerial ace!" Niko commanded. The Valiant Pokémon dove towards the Muk, casually evading the sludge bombs before crashing into the Sludge Pokémon. "Reuniclus, I choose you! Use psyshock!" He shouted, and watched at the Multiplying Pokémon commanded several light blue and purple orbs, and threw them all at the Muk. The Sludge Pokémon collapsed in defeat, much to the shock of the grunt.

"Colress will heard about this!" He shouted, returning Muk and running off. Reuniclus then used her psychic abilities to grab the grunt and force him backwards into a tree, knocking him unconscious. She then gave Niko a smug look.

"Oh, you." Niko smiled as he returned Reuniclus, nodding to Braviary to continue.

As they proceeded through the fog-layered bottom of the crater, Niko tried to think about how he would take on Team Plasma, especially with only his Pokémon. _Are the authorities even looking into this?_ He thought to himself. Shrugging away the thought, he continued his pursuit and, within minutes, found himself on an unnaturally open pathway.

"Be on the lookout, Braviary." Niko said, turning to his eagle-like Pokémon. Braviary nodded, and flew a few paces ahead of Niko, just as a precaution.

The cleared pathway only took a minute or so to traverse. On the other end lay a pathway up the side of the crater, and into some sort of tunnel. Niko looked briefly at Braviary, and walked up the pathway. That's when he began to hear mutterings from within. Leaning close to the cave wall, he tried to listen.

"Zinzolin!" A raspy voice shouted. "What was it that you saw?"

"A Braviary, sir."

"Hmm…it could be that fool, Alder." The raspy voice continued. "No matter, we will soon have the power to crush anyone that tries to oppose us."

"Is that…?" The man apparently known as Zinzolin asked with surprise in his voice.

"Yes, the DNA Splicer. You're correct."

"And…you plan on using that…?"

"Of course I do, Zinzolin. Why wouldn't I?" The raspy voice said dismissively. Niko heard him pacing around within the cavern before continuing. "Years ago my plans to use Reshiram failed. You know that, and I appreciate everything you've done to help bring my vision back to reality. Truly…I do."

"It's an honor of a lifetime to serve you, sir." Zinzolin replied.

"Same with us." Several other men said in unison.

"Ah, yes. The other sages. Ryoku, Giallo, Bronius, and Gorm. Too bad Rood couldn't join us today. He was always the contrarian amongst us, and so I suppose it's better that he isn't here." The raspy voice let out a deep, heavy sigh. "Also…"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Do I sense that we have a visitor?"

Niko's heart dropped. He turned to Braviary, who was standing on the ground next to him, also completely still. Niko waited a minute before turning to leave. Just then, a fire erupted from the cavern, with enough force to knock him off of his feet.

"What the-?" Niko asked, turning back to the cave entrance. Coming out of it was an Eelektross, floating low to the ground. Niko crawled backwards to avoid it, just as Braviary dove in towards it, slamming into the EleFish Pokémon with aerial ace. "Braviary, watch out!" Niko shouted, just as the Eelektross used what looked like flame charge, only the Pokémon was coated in electric sparks, and not fire. Braviary fell off of the pathway and down into the crater. "I got you." Niko shouted, whipping out his pokéball to return Braviary just before he got out of range. He looked at the Eelektross now, who was glaring at him with blood red eyes.

* * *

Charlotte sat on the ground near a charred tree, drawing figures in the dirt with a stick. Next to her was Smeargle, who was occupying her time with painting, as well as providing company to her trainer. Warren, on the other hand, was off looking for the path out of the burnt forest.

"Why can't I go?" Charlotte said aloud, but softly enough that only Smeargle could hear her. "Am I afraid? Am I too worried? I don't know…but I can't decide." She said, snapping her stick and throwing it at a nearby tree. Smeargle then turned to look at her. "I guess…I'm afraid of dying. But also that if something did happen to me, then I wouldn't get to be with you, Smeargle, or Deerling, or Frillish, or Warren, or my mom, or Niko…"

Smeargle looked at her before whipping her painting tail around, clearly focused on what she was creating for her trainer. It didn't take long, but eventually a pink heart appeared in front of Charlotte. She sighed, but smiled up at Smeargle, who returned the smile with a hug.

"You're right…we'll always be loved, regardless of what happens." She let go of Smeargle and nodded, this time with conviction. "Let's go find Niko."

"We're going?" Warren said, suddenly appearing. "Because I just found a pathway north, out of this place, if you want to head to Vertress City."

"No, let's help Niko. It's our job." Charlotte stood up and returned Smeargle. Warren noticed, for the first time, a fire lighting up in her eyes.

"Yes. Let's go." He said. They ran off down the path their friend had run earlier, eventually reaching the sharp decline that Niko had gotten to earlier. "Oh…my god…"

"It _is_ the Giant Chasm!" Charlotte said, marveling at the enormous crater while holding onto a charred tree. "Warren…this is an incredible sight!"

"That it is. But we have a job to do, right?" Warren said, patting Charlotte on the shoulder.

"How are we going to get down, though?" She wondered, looking around her limited field of vision for some sort of pathway. She then noticed Warren and Leavanny making their way down, using silk. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She shouted in a panicked tone.

"Going down." Warren said simply.

"Uh…okay?" Charlotte said before noticing that Leavanny's string was acting like a rope. "Ah."

"Yeah, we're going to rappel down there. Kinda like rock climbers." Warren said, tugging on the string. "See? Safe."

"I…believe you." Charlotte said, gulping a little. She walked over and got into Warren and Leavanny's arms as the Nurturing Pokémon briefly looked down before jumping off. Charlotte found herself amazed by how in sync Warren and Leavanny were; they both touched the side of the crater at the same time and leapt back off at the same time. Eventually, they found themselves close to the ground, where Charlotte noticed the thick fog. Not sure how much further they had to go, she closed her eyes tightly and waited to safely land.

"Here." Warren said, and Charlotte opened her eyes to see him, Leavanny, and the fog around them. "Geez…Niko went through here? It's so barren and…"

"Eerie." Charlotte said, touching a pokéball on her belt to make sure they were still attached to her. They were and, feeling safer, she continued through the fog, with Warren's Pidove helping them navigate through the fog. After what seemed like an eternity, the duo made it to an unnaturally-carved path through a forest of snapped trees. "Whatever hit this place certainly did a number on the area, right?"

"Yeah. Trees would normally grow after a while, right?"

"I think so." Charlotte said, grimacing at the dead foliage around her. "This place is awful."

"Figures that Team Plasma would be here, then." Warren muttered just as they reached the end of the pathway, discovering the edge of the crater with what looked like the entrance to a tunnel up above. "There. They might be there." Warren said, beginning to make his way up.

"Warren! Wait!" Charlotte shouted as she looked down at her friend's feet. Warren looked down just as Leavanny pushed him away. A smoke cloud erupted under the Nurturing Pokémon, causing Leavanny to cough profusely. Charlotte whipped out a pokéball in defense, looking around her. There was no one to be seen. "Is Leavanny alright?"

"Yeah, I hope so. But we need to get away from here. Now." Warren said, returning Leavanny and grabbing Charlotte's wrist before breaking into a run towards the cave entrance, just as more smoke clouds erupted behind them. "They really made sure no one was around to bother them, eh?"

"Guess not." Charlotte said, turning her head to look behind her while Warren practically dragged her along. Suddenly, he stopped in front of the cave entrance when she looked back.

There, in front of her and Warren, stood a Bisharp and an Eelektross. Bisharp's hand-blades began to glow bright red while Eelektross' mouth lit up in flames.

"Frillish! Water pulse!" Charlotte shouted. The pulsating blue orb hit Eelektross' flamethrower, causing a cloud of vapor to erupt while Warren summoned Poliwhirl to deal with Bisharp.

"What the hell?" Warren said through the vapor. "Whose Pokémon are these?"

"They're mine." A raspy voice said as the vapor disappeared. Standing in front of them was a tall man with gray-green hair and a robotic red lens covering one of his eyes. He wore a long cloak that folded outwards at the top, covering his neck and part of his chin and mouth. The cloak was black and dark shades of gray with odd-looking eyes on it.

"I know you…" Charlotte said. "You're Ghetsis."

"Indeed I am. And you're in my way. Surrender or, like your friend, you'll be the first to perish in my new world order."

"'Your friend?'" Warren asked as his eyes widened. "What did you do to Niko!? WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Nothing. Yet. But he was quite meddlesome." Ghetsis began coughing before continuing his thoughts. "Come, join us. What we're about to do is quite marvelous, if I do say so myself."

"NO!" Warren shouted. He then felt a hand touch his arm. Looking down, he saw Charlotte nod seriously at him. "Why should we go?"

"Let's. Just. Go." She said silently. "I know it doesn't make sense. It doesn't to me, and I'd rather fight. But it's safer for now."

"Exactly." Ghetsis said with a malicious smirk. "Come. I'll be kinder to you since you readily surrendered to me." He said, making a simple hand motion. Warren hesitated, but with a quick push from Charlotte, he finally accepted by returning Poliwhirl.

Ghetsis then led them through the cave entrance and into a tunnel, where they walked for a minute or so before reaching a much larger cavern. There, they immediately saw Niko guarded by two grunts; the four hooded men that Niko chased down at Village Bridge; and Colress. What really grabbed their attention was in the center of the chamber.

A massive, blue and gray Pokémon stood there in a light blue electrical sphere. It had yellow eyes and no pupils. On its head were a pair of pointed light bluish horns and a yellow crest above its skull. Three pointed teeth jut out from the bottom of either side of its jaws, which are frozen shut by the ice covering its head. Its long, gray neck had lines running around its whole body, legs, arms, and tail. It had two arms, each with its own claw and each arm is jointed together from its oddly shaped blue wings. Each wing had two spikes of ice. The right side of its body seemed to be damaged in some way, as the wing and horn on those side were shorter. Its tail had three blue conical spikes on its tip.

"Kyurem, please say hello to our newest guests." Ghetsis said, motioning towards Warren and Charlotte. "Children, this is the legendary Pokémon, Kyurem."


	47. The Vast White and the Deep Black

**Episode 47: The Vast White and the Deep Black**

"Warren! Charlotte! What the hell are you two doing here?" Niko shouted, almost angrily.

"Helping you out!" Charlotte snapped back, seemingly angrier than he was.

Ghetsis smirked at them. "I've been aware of you three since my grunt's interactions with you at Chargestone Cave. I'm sure you remember that, right?" They all nodded. "Well, since I'm going to kill you three, I'll connect all of the dots for you. So, to complete my grand design, I needed two primary things—the Dragon Stones, and a plentiful energy source. It just so happened that you intervened in both, and unfortunately, I was unable to use Chargestone Cave's natural energy resources to fuel my desires. We were, however, successful in obtaining one of the Dragon Stones, courtesy of Colress." Ghetsis motioned to the scientist standing on the opposite side of Kyurem. "And now, you're probably wondering what my grand design actually is.

"You see, Kyurem is a unique Pokémon in that it can _absorb_ other Pokémon—specifically, Reshiram or Zekrom. This is, of course, theory, but from our understanding of this…alien Pokémon, and prior knowledge of Reshiram, again courtesy of Colress, we can deduce that, with enough energy and these Dragon Stones, we can _fuse_ the Tao Trio of Pokémon into a more powerful beast." Ghetsis then snapped his fingers, and one of the hooded men brought to him a spherical black orb. "This, children, is the Dark Stone. In here is Zekrom, the legendary Deep Black Pokémon."

"You're not going to…" Warren said.

"Yes. Yes I am. Our plan this entire time was to control Kyurem. We discovered that it had the ability to fuse, and therefore make it far more powerful. And in doing so, I will be able to achieve my long-held dream of world domination!"

"You're mad." Niko said. "And it's pathetic."

"Oh? And who is the one holding ultimate power here? You, or me?" Ghetsis said, snapping back at Niko. He then held up the Dark Stone, a psychotic look in his eyes. "Heh…ultimate power. Colress!"

The scientist quickly walked over to Ghetsis, and held out a long, triangular prism-shaped object in his hands. It was nearly two feet in length, and alternated in shades of blue. On the flat end of the object was a smaller, yellow point that was also in the shape of a triangular prism. Ghetsis then took the object in his other hand and approached Kyurem.

Ghetsis held up the object in one hand and the Dark Stone in the other. He coughed briefly before placing the two together and then thrusting the pointed object through Kyurem's electrical shield and into the front of the dragon's skull. Kyurem let out the same ear-piercing roar as Ghetsis did this. Suddenly, Kyurem flailed its head around before it started pulsating a black color, almost as if it were evolving.

Kyurem now took on a new form. Its legs were just like before, but shorter and the middle toe was completely frozen. Its tail was now a large, round, conical and spiked formation that looked akin to an electrical generator, with black bands running around the outside portion. Gray parts of skin ran backwards to attach the tail to Kyurem's body. It had a bulky torso, and it had long, muscular, and black arms. It's left arm and wing were completely frozen. Its neck was also upright. Lastly, the ice covering Kyurem's lower jaw was partially thawed.

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte looked at the Pokémon with horror. It turned to Ghetsis and leaned down, presumably to sniff him.

"This! This is Kyurem's Absofusion-form, Black Kyurem!" He shouted victoriously. "Now, Black Kyurem, you and I will remake the world in _our_ image! Come, let us go!" Ghetsis said, just as he turned to mount the dragon Pokémon. As he did so, Niko felt a pokéball drop from his hand onto the ground.

"Serperior, use leaf tornado!" Niko shouted. The Regal Pokémon erupted out of her pokéball and used leaf tornado to knock the grunts holding him captive. "Boldore, rock slide!" He shouted, thrusting a second pokéball out.

"Oh…Ghetsis…" Colress said with disappointment. "You didn't think to take his pokéballs from him?"

Ghetsis shrugged. "Doesn't matter now, does it? Finish them!" He shouted. "Black Kyurem, attack!"

Kyurem put its claws together, and a light bluish-white ball of energy surround by electricity formed and became larger. Kyurem then separated its claws and fired the ball towards Niko and Serperior. The latter wrapped her tail around Niko and pulled him away just as the ball hit the wall of the cavern, instantly freezing it. Boldore then used rock slide on Kyurem while Serperior turned to the hooded men, all of whom looked truly worried.

"Serperior, leaf tornado." Niko said, turning to look at the men.

"Cryogonal, go." The lead hooded man, whom Niko had identified as Zinzolin, shouted. He was a portly man with a large purple and black coat that, like Ghetsis', pointed outwards at the neck, partially covering his short, white-haired beard. "Ice beam!"

"Litwick, flame burst!" Niko shouted, summoning the candle Pokémon. Litwick burst onto the field and was about to use flame burst when she looked up at Zinzolin and paused. "Litwick…?" Niko said, almost in a panic. "Litwick, let's go!"

Before Zinzolin could respond, he looked up behind Niko and saw Kyurem and Ghetsis charging out of the chamber and into the tunnel. Niko saw this, returned Serperior and Litwick, and made a run for it while Zinzolin and the other hooded men moved to the side, out of the way of the rampaging Kyurem.

Niko made it to the end of the tunnel and, instinctively, threw out Braviary's pokéball. "Go!" He shouted, jumping off of the side of the crater and jumped onto the Valiant Pokémon's back. "I know you're exhausted, but we need to create some space between Kyurem and Ghetsis." Niko said. He turned and saw Kyurem take flight, which was as frightening as it sounds. "We have to circle back for Warren and Charlotte!" Niko said as they dodged the freezing move from earlier. "Well done, Braviary." Niko said, petting Braviary's neck as they flew above the crater.

Moments later, Niko felt his body being rocked as Braviary suddenly got significantly colder. Looking down, he noticed the two of them were falling, and his Pokémon was frozen solid. He returned Braviary to his Pokémon, and found himself alone as he descended towards the foggy bottom below, dodging another poorly aimed attack from Kyurem.

Then, he felt a white object cover him and he stopped in the middle of the air. Looking up, Niko saw a head attached to a long, slender neck looking down at him. The Pokémon had bright blue eyes, similar to his, and bore a voluminous wispy stream from the upper side of the snout and outwards from its head. Niko then realized he was sitting on two, bright white wings with claws on each end. Lastly, on the back of the Pokémon was a man with long, tea-green hair wrapped in a ponytail.

"Be more careful next time, alright?" He said with a friendly tone and smile. "Next time Reshiram might not be able to catch you." He added as they landed on the ground. Reshiram then placed Niko on the ground.

"Who—what—how—?" Niko said, looking at Reshiram, the sky, and the man in confusion.

"I'm N. Pleased to meet you. I just saved you. And I'll explain how when this is over. I promise. Reshiram! Let's go!" He shouted, pointing up to Ghetsis and Kyurem. Reshiram roared out before belting out a powerful stream of blue fire at Kyurem, who evaded the move and repeated its signature ice-electric move. Reshiram blocked the move with what looked like flamethrower. Niko noticed its tail glowing a bright orange color as it did so. The Vast White Pokémon then launched back into the air, leaving Niko on the ground. "Go after the Sages!" N shouted back to Niko. "I'll deal with Ghetsis!"

"Okay!" Niko said, turning to the hooded figures and Zinzolin, whom Niko deduced must be the sages. "Litwick, let's go!" He shouted again, just as Zinzolin approached him with Cryogonal. "Use flame burst!"

"Hm." Zinzolin said, eying the Candle Pokémon curiously while Cryogonal awaited orders. "that Litwick…it's scared." He said, slowly approaching Litwick, who cowered back.

"Don't get close to her!" Niko said, shielding Litwick.

"Oh, I don't think you understand…" Zinzolin said, tilting his head as if in deep thought. "I—I've seen this particular Litwick before. No Pokémon would be that scared if they weren't familiar with someone like me."

"Familiar…?" Niko asked.

"Oh yes. Yes…I remember now. A Chandelure and a Lampent…" Zinzolin said, trying to work through something in his head. "And you…the offspring…I see now. I get it."

Niko looked down at Litwick, who looked almost catatonic now. It was clear she was realizing something, too. Confused, he sent out Reuniclus, who read Litwick's thoughts and also froze.

Under the battle between Kyurem and Reshiram, the crater floor was deathly silent. Warren, Charlotte, and Boldore watched from near the pathway leading to the cavern Kyurem was in; the Sages surrounded Zinzolin in a semicircle behind him. Cryogonal looked like it was about to attack Litwick. And Niko, Reuniclus, and Litwick stood there, all frozen.

A flood of images invaded Niko's mind—images of death, a Chandelure and an unfamiliar Pokémon that looked like a Lampent, and a shadowy figure that resembled Zinzolin. As usual, Niko understood. And he was furious.

"You—you!" He shouted. Reuniclus then, without command, conjured orange orbs and thrust them at Cryogonal, who responded with an ice beam.

"Yes, I supposed I did. You see, this Litwick's parents were in our way. They were owned by a young trainer who got in our way after we began accumulating power once again. And, well, we had to do what we needed to do to ensure that no one oppose Team Plasma."

"You _killed_ Pokémon!" Niko shouted. "Why!? Why would you do that!?"

"You have to make hard choices when you are the one in control." Zinzolin said, his face darkening. "I was the one in control—I made the choice to kill that Chandelure and Lampent. And…somehow, this Litwick got away from me. What a small world we must live in." He looked at the Litwick. "I'd hate to see you suffer the same fate as your parents, Litwick, but if your trainer chooses not to surrender, then we will have no choice."

"Magnezone, magnet bomb!" Colress shouted from the cave entrance. Small, light blue orbs thrust towards Litwick and Niko.

Niko grabbed Litwick and dodged the magnet bombs hurled at them, rolling across the ground. He looked down at the Candle Pokémon, who looked inconsolable. Rage filled his heart. "Litwick…I had no idea. I'm sorry for putting you through this."

The Candle Pokémon shook her head as Niko sat up with her. Zinzolin and Colress were now approaching them. In the back, Warren and Charlotte were facing off against the same Eelektross and Bisharp that they had faced earlier, this time with Boldore's help. Niko tightly held Litwick with one hand, and pulled out a pokéball with the other.

"Serperior, let's go!" Niko shouted, throwing out the Regal Pokémon's pokéball. "Fight Magnezone!" He called out, not wanting to focus on that battle with Litwick losing her mind in catatonia. "It's okay, Litwick. I'm here. And I won't let them hurt you. I promise." He stood up, holding Litwick in his arms. He could feel his shirt burning a little from touching the waxy skin of the Candle Pokémon. "I won't let you harm any more Pokémon!" He cried to Colress and Zinzolin, who stood several feet away from him.

"You don't have the power to make those choices." Colress said in a mechanical tone. He pulled out a second pokéball. "Beheeyem, go." He said, summoning an alien-like Pokémon. "Psychic!"

Beheeyem's eyes began to glow a bright green color, and Niko and Litwick found themselves thrust backwards, crashing into a charred tree. Litwick wasn't affected by the attack, but was clearly disturbed.

"Litwick…I don't know what to tell you, other than don't be like me. Don't be paralyzed by fear or mourning. Don't let the death of a loved one hold you back like it did for me. I don't know your parents, but I know that they'd be so proud of the Pokémon that you are _now_ , just like I am every day." Niko said as he took another psychic attack from Beheeyem. "You've grown into a strong Pokémon, and will continue to get stronger. We'll go to Vertress City, and win the Unova League, and it'll partly be because of you. And when we take that trophy, your parents will be looking down on _you_ , and only you!"

Suddenly, Litwick shot out of Niko's hands, and he watched as the purple flame on her head erupted into the sky, eliminating the fog and cleared the field around them. Everyone else stopped once more and watched Litwick as an orb of light blue fire forms in front of her flame. She then fired a spiraling stream of light blue fire with rings of dark blue fire from the orb at the Beheeyem.

"Inferno…" Niko said in amazement. "You finally learned it."

Beheeyem was thrust backwards, engulfed in fire. Just as it landed on the ground, Litwick began to glow a bright white color, signaling that she was ready to evolve. Niko watched as she got a little larger. She now had a clear, spherical head containing a bluish-purple flame and oval, yellow eyes. On top of her head was a black covering, which resembled a lampshade, with a pointed spike on the top. Underneath her head was a small, black body with a pointed spike at the bottom. Extending from her body were two long, wavy arms with no fingers. Like Litwick, she was floating in the air.

"LAAAAAM!" She shouted, shooting another inferno at Magnezone this time. The Magnet Area Pokémon was thrust backwards and into the ground, also engulfed in flames like Beheeyem. Serperior then finished her opponent off with leaf tornado.

Colress and Zinzolin looked at one another in shock as Lampent approached them, a flare in her eyes.

"Lampent…" Niko said softly. "We've defeated them." He said. Lampent then conjured a fireball and shot it in front of her. It landed in front of Zinzolin and Colress, who stared at the Lamp Pokémon with terror in their eyes. They turned around and Saw Reuniclus standing there, a defeated Cryogonal laying on the ground behind her. Beyond that, Warren and Charlotte seemed to be having difficulty with Bisharp and Eelektross. Niko pointed to them, and Reuniclus and Serperior rushed to help Boldore, Warren, and Charlotte out while he and Lampent dealt with Team Plasma. "Stand down, both of you. You've lost."

"We have not." Colress said, pointing upwards. Niko looked up to see Reshiram falling through the sky, with Kyurem flying after it. Niko scowled as he watched Ghetsis descending towards N and Reshiram. "You cannot defeat us and Kyurem. Not today, not ever."

"Lampent, inferno." Niko said, pointing up to Kyurem. Lampent nodded, unleashing her rage through a stream of blue fire, directed towards the legendary Pokémon. It managed to miss, but attracted Ghetsis and Kyurem's attention. The two then turned towards Niko and rushed at them. "Will-o-wisp!" He shouted. Lampent obliged, throwing blue fireballs at the Kyurem, who beat them away as if they were nothing. Niko then grabbed Lampent and dove to the ground to dodge Kyurem, who chose to tackle him instead of using its signature move. Niko got up and looked at Kyurem and Ghetsis. The latter got off of his Pokémon and walked towards Niko.

"Well done, Niko." He said. "You've managed to defeat my two closest followers. However…you and your all-so-powerful Lampent have made your last stand. Kyurem!"

Kyurem then began preparing its signature move once more. It was about to thrust its claws apart and launch the attack when it was engulfed with a jet of blue fire forceful enough to knock Ghetsis to the ground. Lampent used inferno once more to add to the attack. Niko rushed towards Ghetsis and tackled him, gripping his collar.

"Stand. Down." He demanded.

"No." Ghetsis spat back, grabbing Niko by the shoulders and throwing him to the side before erupting in a coughing fit. "I…will not…be defeated…again."

"Yes you will!" N shouted from above. "Reshiram, blue flare!"

Reshiram unleashed its blue fire, powered by the generator-like object on its tail. Kyurem roared out as the flame surrounded it. Reshiram then dove towards the ground and tackled Kyurem after N jumped off of it, slashing at Kyurem with its wings and spinning around to slap its opponent with its white and orange tail. Together with Lampent, they quickly subdued Kyurem, forcing the Boundary Pokémon to start pulsating a black color once more. Within seconds, it reverted to its original form. The Dark Stone collapsed onto the ground.

Ghetsis scrambled over to the Dark Stone, overcome with rage and sadness. He snapped at Niko, getting up and dashing towards him. "YOU!" He shouted. As he was about to tackle Niko, Lampent rammed into him from the side, and he collapsed back onto the ground. "You…meddling fool! You—!" He was then picked up by Colress and Zinzolin.

"Come, sir. We're done here." Zinzolin said, overcome with sadness himself. "Our dream is no longer a reality."

"You're not going anywhere." N said, just as Reshiram blocked their way. "None of you are. Authorities are on the way."

"How did you—?" Niko said, turning to N.

"Ah, right. I should explain." He said, noticing Charlotte and Warren walking towards them. "Hello, are you with this young man?"

"Yes…Charlotte." She said, shaking N's hand.

"Warren." He said, doing the same.

"Pleasure. Anyways. As I said, my name is N. I am the foster son of Ghetsis, and the 'King' of Team Plasma. Long story short, I found my freedom from this organization with the help of Reshiram. I heard or rumors that Team Plasma was up to something, and looked into it. That's how I discovered you three, and managed to get here just in time." He looked at Ghetsis and the exhausted Kyurem laying in the rubble nearby. "I'm glad that you three stepped up to help stop some strangers. If Ghetsis had gotten away with Kyurem, I can't think of a Pokémon in Unova that could have stopped him."

"Well, Reshiram did." Niko said, watching the Vast White Pokémon staring down the leaders of Team Plasma.

"That it did. But I couldn't handle the others. That was you, your friends, and this Lampent of yours. Again, well done."

"Thanks, N."

"There is so much we could talk about. But I think I can handle it from here. You three should leave this place, and continue going wherever it is you were going." He said.

"Are you sure?" Niko said. He then heard loud blaring and whirring sounds coming from the sky. Looking up, he saw purple and gray airships descending from the sky.

"I'm sure. Reshiram will take you three out of the crater, and you will be free to go." He said, touching Niko's shoulder. "I have the ability to sense the connection between a human and Pokémon. I can tell that yours—your Lampent, Serperior, Reuniclus—all care deeply for you. There is rarely another relationship quite like that. Don't take it for granted, whatever you do in life."

Niko simply nodded, looking to his team of Pokémon standing to his side. To his other side, Charlotte and Warren were standing with their Pokémon.

"Well…let's go, then." Niko finally said. He returned his Pokémon.

"There's a Pokémon Center a few hours to the north. It's a way stop for trainers preparing to head to Vertress City, which I'm going to assume is your destination." He then turned towards the police, who had just landed. "Good luck there. I'm sure you'll do quite well."

Niko, Charlotte, and Warren waved to N as he turned to cooperate with authorities. Meanwhile, Reshiram prepared to take them out of the crater and in the direction of the Pokémon Center. Before he did, though, Niko walked over to Kyurem.

"I'm sorry for all of this." Niko said, lightly touching the Boundary Pokémon's head, where the barbed object pierced it. "I hope you feel better."

Kyurem looked up at Niko and nodded.

 _Kyurem thanks you for your help_. An unfamiliar voice said, pervading the trio's individual minds. They all turned to see Reshiram standing behind them. _Yes, we—meaning Zekrom and I—have the ability to talk to humans. N did not seem to have this problem, though. But he is indeed a special human._

"I suppose so. Thank you, Reshiram." Charlotte said.

 _Whatever it takes to preserve the balance between truth and ideals in this world. I've had my fair share of battles in the past. I will do whatever I can to prevent that in the future. That includes today. So, again, thank you._

" _Kyurem, the Boundary Pokémon. Dragon and ice type. This legendary Pokémon waits for a hero to fill in the missing parts of its body with truth or ideals_." Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Interesting entry. Ghetsis wasn't the hero, though. Was he?" Warren asked.

 _No, he was not. He took a…shortcut…to create one of the two forms Kyurem is capable of taking._

" _Reshiram, the Vast White Pokémon. Dragon and fire type. This legendary Pokémon can scorch the world with fire. It helps those who want to build a world of truth_."

 _Accurate_ , Reshiram said. _Now, let's go_.

The trio got onto Reshiram's back and took flight, leaving the Giant Chasm. Niko looked down at the crater, watching the leaders of Team Plasma being taken away.

* * *

In the Pokémon Center, Niko collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Every inch of body was aching now that he was finally focusing on it.

"Is Niko going to be alright…?" Charlotte wondered.

"I think so. He just needs to sleep. It's been a rough day." Warren said. "His Pokémon are being looked at by Nurse Joy, and he's being looked at by us."

"I suppose so." Charlotte said as she sat down on the bed next to Niko's. Warren placed himself next to her, and they simply watched their friend relax himself. Eventually, they both found a spot on a nearby bed to rest as well. They would need their energy for the journey to Vertress City.


	48. Vertress City

**Episode 48: Vertress City**

The road to Vertress City took Niko and his friends north of the Giant Chasm and through route 23. According to Charlotte, this would take a couple of days, which was fine with Niko in particular. He needed that time to think.

A lot happened during that day in the Giant Chasm, and he was still trying to process all of it, even days later. Who was this "N" person that saved their lives? Why was Ghetsis the sociopath that he was? How could Reshiram speak to humans telepathically? What will happen to Zekrom after being fused with Kyurem? Will Kyurem be alright? Will Ghetsis, Colress, Zinzolin, and the other sages face the punishment that they deserve? On top of all of these questions, the issue with Lampent and Team Plasma being responsible for her parent's deaths sat in Niko's mind more than anything else.

He couldn't believe it, and couldn't have imagined what Litwick had to go through to get to the place she was when she met Niko. How recent were their deaths relative to his fateful encounter with the Candle Pokémon at the Celestial Tower? Who buried her parents, and why? And, truly, why did Zinzolin go so far as to _kill_ a Pokémon?

Niko considered all of these thoughts and questions in silence while he and his friends traversed the mountainous region in northern Unova. Cliffs surrounded them from all sides, reminding Niko of when he and his friends travelled over cliffs back in Sinnoh, on their way to Celestic Town. The views were outstanding, particularly the sunrise and sunset, where the orange color of the star would bake the mountains in its glow. Niko found it awe-inspiring, and it aided him by easing his thoughts a little.

He had to start seriously thinking about the Vertress Conference, particularly about a strategy to defeat his rivals, should he face them. And with his luck, Niko thought, this was a likely scenario. During their downtime, Niko spent more time with his Pokémon, focusing specifically on their movements, and less on attacking. In his mind, this was the strategy to go with. Hunter and Elliot both had fast Pokémon—he had to be able to keep up. And his Pokémon could hit hard anyway, but they were, on the whole, not as fast as Hunter's Toxicroak and Haxorus, or Elliot's Scizor.

During this time, Charlotte and Warren largely left Niko to his own devices. While he slept after the events of the Giant Chasm, they both agreed to let Niko do as he pleased, since they themselves couldn't grasp the importance of this moment for their friend and his team of Pokémon. This isn't to say that Niko ignored them, or vice versa—they just didn't interject themselves in his training like they might have previously. Plus, Warren spent much of those days on route 23 recording the events of the Giant Chasm in his booklet, which was close to running out of pages.

"Gonna have to get a new one when we get to Vertress City." Warren said one evening, noticing that he only had a few pages left.

"How detailed _are_ you with those?" Charlotte wondered.

"Detailed enough that I might publish it one day." He said. "With both of your permission, of course."

"Yeah, why not?" Niko said, throwing a carrot to Serperior.

"Sure, I guess so." Charlotte said, putting down her book. "I finished."

"Wow. Well done!" Niko said with a smile. "That book has been incredibly helpful to us."

"It has…" She looked down at it. "This whole year has, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I never in my life thought I'd be doing something like this, you know? Seeing the world, near-death experiences, meeting so many different kinds of Pokémon. I talked to _Reshiram_! Who gets to do that!? See what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do. It's crazy, isn't it?" He looked at the fire that Lampent had stoked for them. "You're not the only one who thought they'd be doing this."

"Oh, right. You didn't even want to."

"It seems like it was so long ago, too. But after winning gym battles, and being around Pokémon who wouldn't give up, plus you two, it made me feel better about myself and my situation in life. Not that it was bad or anything before…unless I made it bad."

"Well, whatever you do, don't look back on it with regret." Charlotte said. "We've all made them. And you've moved past yours, it seems."

"That's because I think I really have. I just want to make things right again with my friends and family…and my Pokémon."

"As I've said before, Niko—you will. They will forgive you. Brittany did, and you told me that she was one of your closest friends!" Charlotte said excitedly.

Niko couldn't argue with that. Charlotte was right—he didn't have anything to worry about. "I just wonder if they'll want to battle with me, though. I don't know if my team of seven can go all the way on their own."

"Your Pokémon will battle with you, I think." Charlotte said, patting Niko's shoulder.

"I hope you're right." Niko replied, looking over at his team sitting there, eating.

"Remember our first journey, Niko?" Warren asked, placing his booklet back into his bag. "You were so nervous about doing it, and I thought it was because you were new to traveling!"

"Yeah. You and Snivy seemed up for it. I didn't want to be tempted to travel again." He turned to Charlotte. "Remember the time we got stuck in Anville Town?"

"Of course. You were losing your mind that day. It's also when you told me about how you wound up in Unova." She said, looking fondly at Niko. "It was a good day."

"I felt lighter after opening up to you like that." Niko admitted. "It began to place things in perspective for me, I think."

"I was worried about you two that day!" Warren exclaimed. "You two didn't show up for the basketball game, and so I got concerned that something bad happened to you two on the Battle Subway."

"Luckily, nothing did. But believe Charlotte, I _was_ worried, too."

"You two worry-warts…" Charlotte said teasingly.

"Oh, look who's talking." Niko replied. "You took forever to get over fighting gangs like Team Plasma."

"That's not the same thing, though!" Charlotte said defensively. "We could have _died_ on each occasion. You and Warren were worried you wouldn't reunite on time." Niko flushed pale red from embarrassment. Charlotte was right. But she just laughed it off. "Oh boy…your face just got red!"

"It did not!" Niko said. Then he found himself laughing pathetically along with his friend. Soon enough, Warren began as well. And for the remainder of the night, they shared stories with one another of their adventures thus far.

* * *

The following morning, the trio saw Vertress City on the horizon, in a large valley situated around larger mountain ranges off in the distance. In the center of the city was an enormous circular stadium with four smaller stadiums built around it, each connecting through tunnels. Around the stadiums were buildings and small suburban neighborhoods in the outskirts. It was clear that this city, like Undella Town, had a singular purpose.

"It's amazing looking." Warren added as they proceeded into the valley.

"Looks like the other Pokémon leagues to me." Niko said with a shrug. "But you're right—it is pretty fantastic looking.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the large stadium, where Niko assumed he would have to register. Niko walked through the lobby full of trainers and approached the front desk, where a young man in Pokémon League Official clothing—red polo shirt and black slacks—was seated in front of a computer.

"Hi, I would like to register for the Vertress Conference." He stated simply, albeit quietly.

"Oh, hello. Lucky you!" He said in a friendly voice. "We only had a few spots left, since it's the last day to register. All I need to see is your pokédex and badge case, please."

"Sure." Niko said, suddenly thinking of an important question. "Hey…what happens if I chose to use a Pokémon that _wasn't_ recorded in my pokédex as one that I own?"

The man at the registration desk thought for a moment, trying to piece together the question in his head. Ultimately, he nodded. "They would be permitted. Just come here before a battle and register those Pokémon with us."

"Got it. Thanks."

"Alright, let's see here. Basic…Toxic…Insect…Bolt…Quake…Jet…Legend…Wave Badge. All set!" He handed the pokédex and badge case to Niko. "And also, here is your room key. Are your friends behind you staying with you?"

"Yes, they are." Niko replied.

"Great. Here are two keys for them as well." The registration official said. "And lastly, here's a pamphlet for you as well, detailing the rules and regulations of the Vertress Conference, as well as some of the restaurants and other attractions available to you during your stay. The tournament commences tomorrow evening, and will begin the day following."

"Thank you very much." Niko said, taking the pamphlet and turning to Warren and Charlotte. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Warren said, and Niko led the two of them off towards their suite, which was on the third floor of the stadium. The window had a view of the outside world. For their part, Warren and Charlotte were in awe at the suite, which was a two-bedroom, four bed suite with a small common room in the middle, just like every previous suite Niko had gotten during his Pokémon League stays. "You've stayed in these before?"

"Yup." Niko said, putting down his bags and sat on a bed, essentially claiming it. "They're nice, aren't they?"

"Oh, yes." Charlotte said, putting her bags in another room. "It's very spacious. But what do we do with all of this space?" She said, opening her hands out wide.

"No idea." Niko shrugged. "Maybe it's for larger groups than ours, or trainers that prefer to keep their Pokémon out of their balls more often than not?"

"Possibly." Charlotte said. "What do you want to do first?"

"Oh. Well…I was thinking of calling home first." Niko said.

"Good idea. Do you want us to come with you?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah. I'd like you both to meet my family and Pokémon." Niko said, standing up and walking out of the suite with Warren and Charlotte. They made it to the lobby, en route to the Pokémon Center, when he noticed the most familiar face walking inside amongst the dozen of trainers walking around randomly. Pausing, he stared down the way. "How…?"

"How what…?" Warren asked, looking over at Niko.

"Mom…?" Niko asked loud enough for his mother to hear him. She turned, and her face lit up with pure satisfaction. As usual, she put her brunette hair down past her shoulders. She wore a flowery dress with black leggings. They both approached one another and embraced one another. "How did you—?"

"Brittany, honey." His mother said. "Niko…my boy…I'm…so glad to see you."

"Same here. I'm sorry, Mom." Niko said, looking down at the floor.

"For what?"

"For leaving. For not going to Dad's funeral. For putting you through endless worry. Brittany told me everything."

"Niko. All that I care about is you being safe and healthy. And a Pokémon Trainer again, nonetheless! Brittany told me that you'd be heading to Vertress City in Unova. And so, I came to watch you and your Pokémon." She looked behind Niko to see Warren and Charlotte. "And…who are these two?"

"Mom…these are my friends—Warren, and Charlotte. I met them in Castelia City, where I ended up after leaving Pallet Town. It was them that convinced me to be a Pokémon Trainer again."

"Hi. I'm Niko's mother." She shook their hands. "Thank you for looking after my boy."

"It was no problem, ma'am!" Warren said excitedly. "Niko is the best!"

"He's a great friend." Charlotte said quietly.

"So, you went to Castelia City, then?" Niko nodded. "And…what did you do in the meantime?"

"I worked, actually." Niko said. "And one day I found a Pokémon called Snivy in a dumpster." Niko then went on to recall to his mother the entire story of how he ended up going on another journey. "…and after meeting Brittany, I got my last gym badge, and now I'm here!" He finished, conveniently leaving out Team Plasma and the Giant Chasm. He would rather not worry his mother anymore. By now they were sitting on the couches in the lobby. "How's Jake doing?"

"Better. He was livid when you left. I actually had to calm him down more often than he would with me. He's off in Johto now. I think he's getting close to qualifying for the Silver Conference, and should be competing in that soon enough."

"Oh, wow…" Niko said, remembering his own attempt at the Silver Conference. It was the last time he progressed in a Pokémon League. "I hope he does well."

"So…do you think you can win this thing?" His mother asked him.

"I don't know. The Pokémon I've raised here are pretty strong, but…they might not be enough."

"Well, I asked because…" She opened up her bag to reveal nearly two dozen pokéballs and a fast ball. "There are some Pokémon that might want to see you."

Niko looked into the bag with a sinking feeling. Warren and Charlotte looked in as well, marveling at the number of Pokémon that Niko had collected in his travels.

"I—I couldn't ask them." Niko finally said.

"Niko!" Charlotte exclaimed. "They'll battle with you!"

"I think Charlotte's right." His mother said. "They weren't too excited to come along with me, if I'm being honest, but they did seem to miss you. They might need some convincing, but if you want to talk to them, they're right here."

Niko stared at the bag for a moment before picking it up. "Alright, I'll go outside." He said, leading the way out towards the front lawn of the stadium. He found a large, open, unoccupied area so that his Pokémon could have some space. He then threw the pokéballs out of the bag, all of them opening up and eventually revealing nearly two dozen Pokémon, all of whom stared at Niko with a mixture of responses.

He gulped before saying anything. Warren and Charlotte looked in wonder at the variety of Pokémon standing before them.

"Hi, everyone."

* * *

 **Author's Note (unrelated): Did everyone get Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon today?**


	49. A mixed reunion

**Episode 49: A mixed reunion**

Magmortar, Rampardos, Staraptor, Prinplup, Luxray, Torterra; Glalie, Numel, Manectric, Aggron, Swellow, Sceptile; Delibird, Yanmega, Noctowl, Feraligatr; Shellder, Hitmonchan, Magneton, Kadabra, Pidgeot, and Venusaur.

They all looked at Niko with a wide range of expressions. Some, like Aggron and Delibird, were through the roof to see Niko again. Others, like Torterra, Prinplup, and Rampardos, were not. Feraligatr and Magneton seemed understanding, but still not entirely pleased. Venusaur—arguably the one with closest relationship to his trainer—had a look that mixed disappointment and satisfaction together.

"Look…I've missed you all. I really, really have." Niko began. "I…I don't know where to start, actually." He looked to his mother, and then to Charlotte and Warren. None of them were helpful in the least. "I left you all because I felt like it was the best thing for _me_ at the time. I—we—had lost to Palmer enough, and I couldn't find a way to beat him, and so I forced us to forfeit the match. Then after that, Lauren and I broke up. That hurt. And then my dad died! I was at a low point. I was vulnerable. And the only way I saw out of it was to give everything up and start over, somewhere new.

"And so, I came to Unova, intending to never be a Pokémon trainer again. That's when I met these two." He motioned to Charlotte and Warren. "And…her…" He said, pulling out a pokéball and summoning Serperior. "Everyone, meet Serperior. She's one of the Pokémon I've been raising. Serperior…these are all of my other Pokémon."

The Regal Pokémon eyed each of them with both curiosity and suspicion. In turn, Niko's other Pokémon looked at her with more mixed responses. Some were curious; some looked full of contempt.

"These are Charlotte, and Warren. I met them in Castelia City, which is a big port city. Warren was my roommate for a while. Charlotte…well, I just met her randomly. But they got me back into this, as did Serperior. She loves to battle, and I wanted her to be able to do that. So, I got back into it reluctantly and, as time went on, began to enjoy it again. And I started to think about all of the times we've had—the good and the bad. I've talked about you all so much to these three, and to my other Pokémon. And now we've gotten eight badges, and are at the Unova League in Vertress City.

"I guess my Mom brought you all here in case you wanted to participate in it with me. And I would love it if you did. But if you don't…I understand." He sighed heavily. "We might be up against some tough trainers. You remember Elliot? He's here." Venusaur raised an eyebrow to this, remembering Elliot vividly. "And…so is Hunter." Niko specifically turned to his Sinnoh Pokémon. He noticed Prinplup's face particularly darken. Rampardos seemed a little frightened, but tried to hide it with a frown. "So, it's up to all of you. You don't have to make the decision today, but if you want to, I'll be ready." Niko said. He turned to his mother. "Should I just return them? Or did you want to be with them."

"I'll handle it, Niko." His mother replied with a smile. Niko then turned to leave, with Warren and Charlotte following closely behind.

"I didn't know you had such a wide collection, Niko." Charlotte said. "I mean…you've mentioned it before, but it didn't feel real to me, I guess."

"Thanks, Charlotte. They're good Pokémon." He said, noticing Serperior slithering at his side. "Did you like them too?"

She shook her head.

"Ah. Figures, I guess." Niko muttered. "You'll like them once you get to know them, I think." Serperior rolled her eyes, but slithered on.

As they were about to enter the lobby, they noticed someone hurriedly walking towards them. Then, out of nowhere, Warren ran up to her. Soon enough, Niko and Charlotte recognized Sydney embracing her boyfriend.

"Niko! Charlotte! Hey!" Sydney said, hugging both of them as well. "Congrats!"

"Thanks." Niko said, scratching the back of his head. "It's going to be tough, I think."

"Of course, but from what Warren has told me, you're going to kill it out there!"

"Well, I hope so." Niko said, looking back towards his Pokémon, who were still being returned to their pokéballs by his mother. "Anyway, I appreciate you showing up."

"Of course! I told you when you left that I would!" Sydney said, a bright smile etched on her face. Her general optimism always brightened Niko's day when he was living in Castelia City. It's probably why her and Warren worked so well together—they had more optimism than most. "Oh, and I have something for you as a gift for making it this far. It's from Warren and I—his idea, but I managed to find one in a small shop in Castelia City." She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a shiny, translucent yellow stone with a lightning bolt on it. "Do you know what this is?"

"Yeah, I do actually." Niko said, eying it. "It's a thunderstone. What would I do with this, though?"

"Eelektrik evolves with a thunderstone." Warren said. "Sydney and I figured that you'd need all of the power you can get to achieve your goals. Part of that would be to evolve your—now Eelektrik—all the way to its final form which, according to you, is quite strong."

"I don't know what to say, actually." Niko said, looking at the stone. The little Tynamo he had once met; the same Tynamo with a smaller membrane than most, and was shorter than most, would become a larger, powerful Eelektross. "I really appreciate this. I'll need to talk to Eelektrik about the idea of evolving first, but I'm sure he'll appreciate it as well."

"If you do choose to evolve him, can you let us know?" Warren said. "I'd like to see it, too."

"Yeah, me too!" Sydney said excitedly.

"Why wouldn't I?" Niko teased, looking behind Warren and Sydney and noticing an unwelcome sight. Behind them, Hunter walked through the entrance to the main stadium, not even realizing Niko was there. When Charlotte, Sydney, and Warren all gave him confused looks, Niko elaborated. "Just saw Hunter walk by."

"You have to beat him if you can, Niko." Warren said with an unusually serious expression and tone. "I noticed how some of your other Pokémon reacted to hearing his name. It's clear to me now how deep the animosity goes for some of them."

"Mhmm. He hurt my Rampardos. And that Prinplup of mine…used to be his."

"OH." Warren said in genuine surprise. "I didn't know that."

"Explains a lot, doesn't it?" Niko said, with his friends nodding in agreement.

* * *

Niko placed the thunderstone on the table in the common area of their suite. Across from him was Eelektrik, sitting in one of the chairs. Behind him were most of Niko's Unova Pokémon—at least, the ones that could fit.

"Eelektrik, this is a thunderstone. It allows you to evolve into your final stage, Eelektross." Niko began. "This is actually a gift to me and you from Warren and his girlfriend, Sydney." He motioned to the couple. Sydney greeted the EleFish with a friendly smile and wave. Eelektrik returned it with sparks emitting from his head. "I'm now giving you the option of interacting with this thunderstone which, as I understand it, is all that's required for you to evolve. You don't have to, by any means. You're powerful enough as is, in my opinion. But I've also seen Eelektross in battle before, and it's quite strong." Niko then stepped away to allow Eelektrik to make his decision.

While Eelektrik weighed his choices, Reuniclus was sending Niko images that described the other Pokémon's thoughts on the matter. Braviary wanted Eelektrik to take the stone and evolve; Boldore didn't think it was necessary, and Lampent seemed thrilled at the opportunity, but understood Eelektrik's choice wasn't exactly the easiest. Reuniclus, Niko gathered, seemed entirely neutral in the matter.

Eventually, the EleFish jumped off of the table and walked up to Niko, nodding.

"You want to?" Niko asked. Eelektrik nodded a second time, and within moments the thunderstone was in Niko's palm. "Alright, then. Let's evolve!"

Eelektrik lurched his head forward, essentially putting the thunderstone in his mouth. Just then, he began to glow, and expand his body outwards, stretching to uncomfortable lengths in the relatively small common room. Niko and his friends backed away to give Eelektross some space to move around.

Eelektrik had grown much longer, resembling more of a lamprey than an eel at this point. He had a long tentacle-like, finned limb extending from his head; red eyes, a dark blue body, and possessed clawed, paddle-like arms with yellow spots and yellow-and-red- palms. On the upper portion of his body he had a beige fin and similarly colored fin-like legs below.

Niko looked at his new Pokémon, thoroughly impressed. The powerful Pokémon that he and Charlotte met in the Battle Subway was now standing in front of him as his own.

"How do you feel, buddy?" Niko asked. Eelektross looked at his body carefully before nodding with joy. "Good. The first round in the Unova League is a one-on-one battle. How about you and I go at it together? I want to give you a chance to use your new strength and show Vertress City that we aren't messing around."

Eelektross nodded, a fire burning in his eyes. Niko stared at his EleFish Pokémon, proud of how far he had come in such a short amount of time.

* * *

"Welcome, one and all, to the Vertress Conference!" A familiar voice echoed through the microphone. Niko smiled as he saw the President of the Pokémon League's face appear on a massive monitor hanging on the side of the main stadium. "As usual, I'm President of the Pokémon League, Colton Goodshow, and I'll be your host for this year's Pokémon League, here in the Unova region!

"As usual, there will be 128 trainers, from Unova and around the world, registered in this single-elimination, tournament-style competition. Tomorrow, the first round will consist of preliminary, one-on-one pokémon matches. Once the Top 64 trainers have been decided, we will conduct the second round of battling. There, trainers will compete in two-on-two battles against one another to decide the Top 32. On the third day, the third round will begin, with each of the Top 32 trainers dueling it out in three-on-three match-ups to decide the Top 16. During all of these matches, trainers will be divided amongst the four smaller stadiums and this main stadium. Once we get to the full team pokémon battles, all battles will be conducted in this stadium.

"On the fourth and fifth days, we will conduct the full 6-on-6 pokémon battles until one trainer is left standing. At any point in any match—with the exception of the first round—trainers may substitute their pokémon like they are permitted to in gym battles.

"And now, we will light the torch to commence the annual Vertress City Pokémon Conference!" Goodshow announced, and immediately Niko saw a man running up to the massive golden cup to light it, indicating the start of the tournament. "And now, on the monitor you will see the pairings of trainers for the first round."

Niko looked up to see four faces—his own, Hunter's, Elliot's, and Charles'. As it turned out, he wasn't facing any of them. Instead, he was against a black-haired women with a green scarf around her neck and a white pokéball on it. All of his rival's opponents were also unfamiliar to him.

"Looks like you're not against them yet." Warren said as Niko ate with his friends and his mother that evening, out at a restaurant in Vertress City.

"Nope. But that's fine. If I'm up against Hunter, I want it to be a full battle."

"Why? Wouldn't that make it harder to beat him?"

"No. I've thought of ways to beat him, and they involved as many Pokémon as I can have." Niko said plainly, shutting down the conversation at that point.

"It almost sounds like you want to battle him now." Sydney added.

"Well, I'm prepared to if I have to. But…after seeing how Rampardos and Prinplup reacted to it, I have a score to settle with him. And I'll be more than happy to do that." Niko said, now in a serious tone.

"And you will." Charlotte said quietly, but in a decisive tone. A little surprised, Niko turned to her and nodded, even though she didn't notice it.

That evening, Niko went to take a walk outside. He brought his pokéballs with him, in case he wanted someone to talk to. Warren, Sydney, and Charlotte were all off to bed, but Niko couldn't sleep. Sitting near one of the fountains, Niko reflected on all of the other times he had been in the same position before this. He thought about his first league—the Indigo Conference, where he and Fay battled, and then Fay and Elliot; the Silver Conference, where he and Fay battled again, and then he and Elliot; the Ever Grande Conference, where he and Wally, and he and Melinda battled; and the Lily of the Valley Conference, where he and Lauren, and then he and Hunter battled.

All of those moments, piled up on one another, contributed in small ways to who he was in that particular moment. In the present—at the Vertress Conference.

"I'm going to win this." Niko said, sending out his team of Unova Pokémon. "We're going to win this, guys." He said, looking up at the six of them. "Us—and Druddigon—are going all the way. We'll win, and then fight Caitlin, and Marshal, and whoever else stands in our way. But I'm a Pokémon Trainer, and I will be the strongest one out there. With you all by my side, we can't lose."

They all nodded. Braviary let out a powerful cawing sound in response.

* * *

"And in the first round of the Vertress City Conference, we have Niko from Pallet Town versus Drake from Nimbasa City!" An unfamiliar announcer shouted through the microphone, as Niko was in one of the smaller stadiums for the first round.

The referee for the match explained the rules. Once Niko and Drake nodded, they were permitted to begin. Niko knew exactly who he wanted to use.

"Eelektross, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the EleFish Pokémon.

"Stoutland, you're up!" Drake called out. Erupting out of his pokéball was a large, terrier-like Pokémon with a massive coat of fur that hit its feet. Its whiskers were dense and ran in two individual strands to the sides.

" _Stoutland, the Big-Hearted Pokémon. Normal type. Being wrapped in its long fur is so comfortable that a person would be fine even overnight on a wintry mountain_."

"Stoutland, take down!" Drake shouted.

"Eelektross, coil!" Niko commanded. The EleFish Pokémon brought himself low to the ground and curled up, emitting a faint aura from his body, just as Stoutland entered into a full-body tackle. "Now, charge beam!"

"Fire fang!" Drake shouted, but his Stoutland couldn't seem to match Eelektross, who blasted the normal type backwards with charge beam. "Giga impact!"

"Eelektross, dodge and use coil again!" Niko shouted. True to his word, Eelektross obeyed, slithering through the air away from Stoutland and wrapping himself up once again. He then got an idea, borrowed from Serperior's fight against Marlon. "Use coil on Stoutland!"

Eelektross leapt forward at the Big-Hearted Pokémon, engulfing it with his now-longer body, which managed to wrap once around Stoutland.

"Thunderbolt!" Niko commanded. Eelektross nodded, conjuring a surge of electricity from his body and sending it through Stoutland, forcing his opponent's hair to stand on end. Eelektross then leapt off of Stoutland and created some space between the two of them. Niko then smirked, and nodded to Eelektross. "Finish it off with wild charge!"

"Take down!" Drake shouted before realizing that his Stoutland wasn't able to move. His eyes then widened as Eelektross' body surged with electricity before the EleFish Pokémon dashed at Stoutland, colliding with the paralyzed Pokémon. Stoutland fell to the side, now unable to battle.

"Stoutland is unable to battle, Eelektross is the winner! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Niko nodded proudly. Eelektross had made the right decision to evolve.

Later, Niko watched the other matches with his friends and mother. They caught Hunter's battle, which was held in the same stadium, as well as Elliot's, which managed to be in the main stadium. Hunter and his Toxicroak managed to quickly put down a Jellicent, allowing them to advance. Elliot dealt with a Drapion, and quickly defeated it with his Emboar. When seeing his opponent for the second round, he noticed Charles had also advanced, but was not his opponent.

For the two-on-two battles, also held that same day, Niko would be up against another unfamiliar opponent. He felt better about this. And, after consulting with Professor Juniper, he felt even better.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Is it hard to tell that I really like Eelektross? Or the move coil? Just making sure. Hope you all enjoyed the episode!**


	50. Moving up the ladder

**Episode 50: Moving up the ladder**

"Aaand welcome to the second round of the Vertress Conference!" President Goodshow announced. "We are now down to 64 trainers, all of whom will now compete in two-on-two Pokémon battles to decide the final 32!"

Niko was in the main stadium this time. Coming off of a relatively easy win in the first round, he felt good about his chances in this second one. He looked across the field at his opponent—a tall, bespeckled young man named John. The referee explained the rules, as usual, and shortly after allowed the two trainers to begin.

"Crustle, I choose you!" John shouted, throwing out a pokéball onto the field. In its place appeared a massive crab-like Pokémon with a shell that resembled a cut-way block of sediment with multiple layers. The rest of its body was dark red.

"Lampent, you're up!" Niko called out. "Use will-o-wisp!"

"This shouldn't be too hard. Crustle, rock slide!" John commanded. However, he underestimated Lampent's speed. The fire type weaved through the rocks before conjuring and releasing small blue flames, effectively burning to Stone Home Pokémon. "Shell smash!"

Crustle, unexpectedly, picked up the stone on its back and threw it on the ground. John then commanded it to use smack down, to which Lampent repelled it with hex, as if she were battling Boldore. "Lampent, hex again!" Niko shouted, noticing the small burn mark on Crustle's right claw. The Lamp Pokémon conjured another purple and black ball, launching it down at her opponent, who managed to dodge in time before using a successful rock slide attack, bringing Lampent down to the ground.

"Lampent, we got this, alright?" Niko said as his Pokémon was removing herself from the pile of rocks she was under. "Use inferno!"

Lampent rose into the air and tilted her head towards Crustle before unleashing a powerful burst of blue fire at the Stone Home Pokémon, who attempted to dodge the move before getting hit. Niko then commanded she use hex once more. John called for Crustle to use rock slide to block it, but it was too late: the attack hit, and Crustle was thrown backwards through the air, unable to battle before it even landed on the ground.

"Crustle is unable to battle, Lampent is the winner! John will use his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Umbreon, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a familiar foxlike Pokémon to Niko. "Use shadow ball!"

"Block with hex!" Niko commanded. "And follow up with will-o-wisp!" He said. Lampent obliged, conjuring another shadowy sphere to counteract shadow ball. Just as she threw the will-o-wisp. Umbreon disappeared. "Watch out, Lampent! Umbreon is using faint attack!" Niko cautioned, being very familiar with the move.

"Now!" John commanded. Umbreon leapt out from above Lampent and leaned downwards, sending Lampent into the ground. "And shadow ball!"

"Inferno!" Niko shouted. Lampent tried to attack, but wasn't quick enough for the clearly faster Umbreon, whose shadow ball was enough to defeat the Lamp Pokémon.

"Lampent is unable to battle, Umbreon is the winner!" The judge declared. "Niko will use his second Pokémon!"

"Lampent, return." Niko said. "Druddigon, I choose you!" He shouted. The Cave Pokémon excitedly jumped out of the pokéball and landed on the dirt ground. "Use dragon claw!"

"Screech!" John commanded. The Moonlight Pokémon got low to the ground and emitted an ear-piercing scream at Druddigon, who tried to ignore the move and land his attack. However, he ultimately missed, as the loud sound had disrupted his balance, knocking him to the ground. "Now, faint attack!"

"Dragon tail!" Niko shouted. Druddigon got back up and waited for Umbreon, constantly looking in all of his potential blind spots before Umbreon struck him from the front. Quickly, Druddigon turned on his feet and slammed his purple tail into Umbreon, launching the Moonlight Pokémon through the air. "Dragon claw!"

Druddigon's wings opened up, and he lunged into the air after Umbreon, eventually slashing at it just as it hit the ground. Niko then commanded him to use dragon tail again, and Druddigon somersaulted forwards and slammed his tail into the ground. He missed.

"Umbreon, now!" John shouted, and Umbreon struck Druddigon from the top, landing on his hard head. The dark type yelped out in pain upon contact. "Huh?"

"Rough skin…Druddigon, dragon claw!" Niko shouted. A purple aura burst from Druddigon's claws as he slashed forward at Umbreon, knocking it to the ground. "Finish off with dragon tail!"

Druddigon spun around and slammed his tail into Umbreon, knocking the Moonlight Pokémon halfway across the field, landing just feet in front of John and unable to move any more.

"Umbreon is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Niko saw Druddigon's face light up as he turned to him and glided over, tackling Niko to the ground and inadvertently cutting his trainer's arm with his wing. "You did great, buddy. I'm really proud of you!"

Joining his friends in the stands, Niko accepted congratulations from his mother, Warren and Sydney, and Charlotte, whom he sat next to as they watched the next battle. It was with a woman named Harmony against some trainer from Castelia City. The only thing Niko found notable about her was that she owned an Infernape, and it briefly reminded Niko of Lauren's Infernape.

"Alright then, folks!" Colton Goodshow said after the last battle of the day. "That concludes the first day of the Vertress Conference. We began with 128 trainers, and now we're down to 32! For the next match, which will be three-on-three battles tomorrow morning, these will be the match-ups."

On the monitor 32 profiles appeared. Niko scanned to find his, once more not recognizing the trainer. He noticed Charles was there, facing off against some random trainer. As were Hunter and Elliot. He felt a mixture of relief, lack of surprise, and slight worry at this. After this match, should Niko win it, the battles would get far more intense.

That evening, Niko learned from his mother that his Pokémon might be interested. She showed some of them the highlights of the battle in her own room out in a Vertress City hotel, and they were impressed. It made Niko feel better, but he was still unable to convince his Pokémon that he was worth battling with. That night, he ruminated further on this, ultimately deciding that it was best to keep going with his current Pokémon. The next day would not only feature the Top 32 matches, but also the Top 16, and so it was clear that Niko would be using some of his Pokémon twice that day.

* * *

"Welcome to the second day of the Vertress Conference! I'm your host, as always, Colton Goodshow! We have now determined the final 32 trainers competing in this year's league. By the end of today, we will have thinned it down to the final 8! In this first matchup of the morning, in the main stadium, we have Hunter from Castelia City versus Diane from Opelucid City!"

Niko and his friends and mother watched Hunter's battle against Diane. It was still remarkable how quickly his Haxorus defeated some of its opponents, such as Diane's Simipour, who had put up a good fight. After he quickly and decisively won, Niko and his group migrated over to a smaller stadium, where he would be competing in.

"How're you feeling, Niko?" Warren asked. "You've been doing good so far!"

"Yeah, not too bad actually." Niko replied with a smile. "But it's gonna get pretty tough today."

"True. Any progress on your reserves?"

"No. They don't seem up for it yet." Niko said in a melancholic tone.

"They will, honey." His mother added. "Like I told you, we have to give it some time."

"I know. I'm not too worried, just unhappy about it." Niko replied. This much was true—he did feel unhappy. Or, rather, empty. The Pokémon he had spent months, years with, didn't want to stand with him. He understood this, of course, but it didn't make things easier.

Niko approached the tunnel that led into the stadium, waving farewell to his friends before doing so. _Third battle…we got this_ , he thought to himself. Within a minute, he was standing opposite his new opponent—a short, blue-haired boy in a schoolboy outfit and his hair combed to the side. His name was Dylan. The referee explained the rules, and the two were off.

"Reuniclus, I choose you!" Niko shouted.

"Pinsir, let's go!" Dylan said, sinking Niko's heart a little. _I'm at an immediate disadvantage_ , he thought. _But we can do this, right Reuniclus?_ He saw images swimming into his mind that suggested his Pokémon agreed with him.

"Reuniclus, hidden power!" Niko shouted. Just as the Multiplying Pokémon conjured half of a dozen orange orbs, Pinsir charged forward, the pair of pincers on its head glowing bright white. _Guillotine_ , he thought. "Dodge, and fire the hidden power!" He commanded, knowing that guillotine hardly ever landed. He was correct, and Reuniclus landed her attack successfully, hitting Pinsir in the back. "Now, future sight!"

"Pinsir, x-scissor!" Dylan commanded. Pinsir's pincers burst into a red and white glow before it charged again at Reuniclus, who barely managed to throw the psychic blasts into space before getting hit with the attack. "Retaliate with rollout!"

"X-scissor again!" Dylan shouted. Pinsir managed to land a second attack, knocking Reuniclus to the ground. She retaliated with hidden power, which distracted the Stagbeetle Pokémon long enough for her to get back into the air, ready to attack once again. "Swords dance!"

"Psyshock!" Niko called out. He knew it wouldn't have been nearly as effective as, say, hidden power. However, he didn't want to risk using rollout, and using the same move repeatedly was a cheap way to win…in most cases.

Reuniclus managed to use the attack, landing it successfully before looking back up at Niko and nodding. Niko realized the future sight was nearly ready to hit, and so he called for a hidden power. The Multiplying Pokémon obliged, summoning more orange orbs to throw at her opponent. All of them landed just as the future sight reappeared, pelting Pinsir with psychic blasts.

"Pinsir is unable to battle, Reuniclus is the winner! Dylan will now send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Pinsir, return! Accelgor, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning an odd-looking bug type Pokémon. Accelgor had a large pink head that looked reminiscent of a helmet curled to the back. On the front of it sat a black star-like marking. Its eyes were hidden in a shadowed crevice in its head. The rest of its body was covered in a dull blue, cloth-like membrane.

" _Accelgor, the Shell Out Pokémon. Bug type. When its body dries out, it weakens. So it wraps a membrane around itself for protection while it spits poison_." Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Accelgor, use agility!" Dylan shouted.

"Reuniclus, future sight!" Niko called out, setting up for the battle as well. Before he realized it, though, Accelgor was rapidly moving towards Reuniclus. It leapt into the air with unusual speed and grabbed onto the Multiplying Pokémon before glowing a bright green color. "Giga drain…" Niko muttered. "Reuniclus, hidden power!"

Reuniclus obliged, summoning the orange orbs characteristic of hidden power, but wasn't able to land the attack, since Accelgor managed to drain whatever energy she had left. The Shell Out Pokémon leapt back onto the ground just as Reuniclus collapsed, unable to continue.

"Reuniclus is unable to battle, Accelgor is the winner! Niko will send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Reuniclus, well done. I'm proud of you. Braviary, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning the Valiant Pokémon for his Unova League debut. "Use hone claws!"

"Agility, Accelgor!" Dylan called out. Braviary eyed the Accelgor warily, understanding that he was in for a real matchup if he didn't attack soon.

"Aerial ace, now!" Niko commanded. Braviary nodded, diving down low to the ground. At the last minute, Accelgor leapt back into the air, but not before Braviary took a quick turn and, managed to maintain his speed, slammed hard into the Shell Out Pokémon, launching it through the air and onto the ground, near the wall in front of the stands. "Air cutter!"

Braviary moved back, his wingtips glowing as he shot out small light blue blades at his opponent, keeping it subdued. Niko continued to wait for the future sight, knowing fully well that it would happen even if Reuniclus was no longer in battle. He commanded Braviary to use another aerial ace and, just as he made contact with Accelgor, the future sight hit, launching psychic blasts into both Pokémon, knocking them to the ground in an explosion of psychic energy.

"Braviary!" Niko shouted. Quickly, the Valiant Pokémon rose back into the air, ready to continue fighting, which made Niko smile. "Alright, go in for one more attack, alright? Braviary, use crush claw!"

Braviary's talons glow bright blue as he descended towards Accelgor. Crashing once more, he slashed his feet at the Shell Out Pokémon before somersaulting backwards and, unexpectedly, burst into a blue, full-body aura that engulfed both of them upon contact.

"Brave bird…" Niko said, recognizing the attack. "Well done, Braviary!" He shouted just as Accelgor dropped forward to the ground in defeat.

"Accelgor is unable to battle, Braviary is the winner! Dylan will now send out his final Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Durant, I choose you!" Dylan said, looking more frustrated now. The Pokémon he summoned was a massive, ant-like Pokémon with a metal body and glowing red eyes.

" _Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon. Bug and steel type. Individual each play different roles in driving Heatmor, their natural predator, away from their colony_." Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Braviary, we can keep going, right?" Niko asked. Braviary nodded before using hone claws. He knew, just like Niko, that this particular matchup wouldn't be as easy. "Right. Aerial ace!"

"Iron defense, Durant!" Dylan commanded. The Iron Ant Pokémon crouched low to the ground, presumably into a defensive position, while Braviary slammed down into it. Its body was hard enough that Braviary crumbled to the side from hitting it too hard. "Now, iron head!"

Durant's head burst into a light gray aura before it scuttled across the field and hit Braviary, who responded with crush claw. The attack hardly seemed to do much, though, and the Valiant Pokémon realized it wasn't getting anywhere here.

"Braviary, use brave bird!" Niko shouted. His Pokémon rose back into the air before a blue aura erupted around him, and he dove down towards Durant at an unusually fast pace.

"Iron head!" Dylan shouted. The two Pokémon collided, sending both of them backwards. Braviary was thrown onto the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a stop past the midpoint of the field, while Durant seemed to feel nothing. Niko leaned forward to see if Braviary could keep going, and saw no movement.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Durant is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will use his final Pokémon!"

"Braviary, return." Niko said, exchanging pokéballs. He knew exactly who he wanted to send out this time. "Lampent, I choose you!"

"Durant, iron defense!" Dylan shouted immediately, likely realizing the threat that Lampent posed to his Pokémon. "And use metal sound!"

"Lampent, ignore it if you can, and use will-o-wisp!" Niko shouted. The Lamp Pokémon obliged, focusing solely on Durant despite the awful sound emitting from it. She conjured a series of blue fireballs and launched them at her opponent, who attempted to dodge them but couldn't. "Now, use inferno!" Niko shouted.

Lampent tilted her head towards Durant and conjured a massive jet of blue fire that she launched at the Iron Ant Pokémon, who predictably tried to dodge but once more couldn't. Niko could hear screeching sounds coming from the Durant, who clearly wasn't able to handle the fire attack as it engulfed it.

"Durant is unable to battle!" The referee concluded upon noticing a burnt Durant lying motionless. "Lampent is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko held out his arms as Lampent turned and rushed towards him, also with open arms. "That's two for two today, buddy. You've gotten us to the Top 16!" He said. "I'm very proud of you."

Lampent couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

Niko and his friends watched the rest of the matches in the main stadium. They caught the tail-end of Elliot's battle against a trainer from Mistralton City, and noticed Charles had lost in this round when the final 16 trainers were revealed at the end of the third round. And so, it was now down to Niko, Hunter, and Elliot.

"What a day so far!" Colton Goodshow announced. "Well folks, we've got plenty more action coming up! All battles from here on out will be full, six-on-six battles between our final 16 trainers!" He said. "They will begin in three hours. And now, without further ado, here are the match-ups!"

Niko watched anxiously as the sixteen profiles flipped around and randomly shifted across the monitor, arranging themselves in eight new pairs before flipping back again. Niko's heart dropped, and each of this friends turned to him while he stared at the screen.

He was, once again, facing Hunter.

The first thing he did was turn to his mother. "Can I have your hotel key?"

"Uh, sure?" She replied. "Go for it." She reached into her bag and threw Niko the key, and he immediately dashed out of the stadium.

He kept running with stopping, out of the stadium and into Vertress City proper, before turning a corner and arriving at the hotel his mother was staying at. In a final mad dash, he charged towards her room, frantically opened the door, and grabbed the bag of pokéballs sitting on the extra bed in her room before locking the door and leaving the hotel.

Niko found an open field nearby, and threw out all of the pokéballs from the bag, instantly summoning each of his Pokémon, some of whom looked like they had just woken up from a nap.

"…hi guys…" He said, panting heavily. "Good news—my Pokémon and I made it to the Top 16." He noticed his reserves nodding, seeming impressed. "But our next opponent is Hunter." Then, their faces darkened a little. "Look, I know some of you don't want to battle with me, and I get that. But if you want to kick Hunter's ass, now's the time." He sent out his team of Pokémon from Unova.

"Everyone, meet…well, the other everyone. This is my Unova team of Pokémon: Serperior, Braviary—who is very exhausted right now, Reuniclus, Boldore, Lampent, and Druddigon. I have an Eelektross as well, and he's a kick-ass Pokémon too. Guys, these are my reserves." He then got in the middle of the two groups to address them jointly. "We're…up against Hunter now." He noticed Serperior scowl. "I'm asking if anyone wants to join me in this fight. It's in a couple of hours, so I don't have too much time, but if none of you," he looked to the reserves, "want to battle, I'll go with my Unova team. Braviary, you'd switch with Eelektross."

He then noticed Serperior slither forward. This wasn't surprising in the least, since she wanted to defeat his Haxorus, should he use it. Noticing no one else from his Unova team, he turned to his reserves.

They were silent for a moment before Numel and Staraptor shuffled forward. Then Feraligatr, which greatly pleased Niko. Finally, and expectedly, Rampardos and Prinplup—who have a personal vendetta against Hunter, also stepped forward. It then became obvious that his reserves were waiting on Rampardos and Prinplup in particular, and he saw Venusaur nudge the Penguin Pokémon forward a little.

"Alright, we've got our team then. Now, I have a strategy in mind. It _might_ work, and it's going to require a lot from each of you…"

* * *

"Where's Niko?" Warren said, looking at a wristwatch he recently bought in Vertress City. "He's going to be late!"

"No, he's not. Look." His mother said, pointing towards the entrance to the lobby. There, they noticed Niko jogging towards them. All of them immediately got out of their chairs to see him. "Is everything alright?"

"Now it is." Niko said, hugging his mother.

"That's good…but why did you need my hotel key?" She asked as Niko returned it.

"I needed to talk to some old friends of mine." Suddenly, he noticed a look of satisfaction on Warren's and Charlotte's faces.

"Well, good!" Warren exclaimed. "Because you're almost up!"

"Oh, dear." Niko said, rushing towards the stadium. He then felt something grab his wrist. Stopping, he turned to see Charlotte there. She let go, and stared at Niko for a moment. "What's up, Charlotte?"

Before saying anything, she rushed in to hug him. Confused, he returned the hug. It felt warm.

"You're going to win." She muttered. "I know it."

Niko smiled before letting go. "Thanks, Charlotte."

He turned once more towards the tunnel, walking this time, his head held high. Unlike at Lily of the Valley, he was ready this time.

"And now we've got our second match of the fourth round! On one end is Niko from Pallet Town. On the other—Hunter from Castelia City!"

Niko stared down his opponent. The same man who has insulted his friends, hurt his Pokémon, and contributed to creating a sense of personal failure in Niko's mind. Niko could only imagine what was going through Hunter's head in that moment. Maybe he didn't want to know.

The referee explained the rules this time, which were different from other six-on-six battles. Here, there was no break in the middle when one trainer lost three Pokémon. Substituting was allowed, which pleased Niko. He'd need it.

"Mandibuzz, I choose you!" Hunter shouted.

"Staraptor, let's go!" Niko called out. The battle had begun.


	51. Hunter

**Episode 51: Hunter**

Brittany turned the television on in her room in Nimbasa City. The Grand Festival was a few more days away, and so she could afford to take a break to watch the Unova League. She had known that the Top 16 would begin in the late afternoon, and so as soon as she could, she laid down and watched it, her team of Pokémon sitting around the room, all eyes on the screen.

"And now we've got our second match of the fourth round! On one end is Niko from Pallet Town. On the other—Hunter from Castelia City!"

"Woah!" Brittany quickly sat upright, eyes glued to the screen. There, the announcer did not lie—Niko was indeed battling Hunter. "Oh, no…" She looked at her Pokémon, all of whom seemed to have worried looks with the exception of Dewott, who hardly knew Niko. Brittany then reached for her bag and grabbed her phone to quickly dial a number. "Hi…may I speak with the Frontier Brain…? Thanks." Brittany sat there for a few moments, waiting for her friend to pick up.

"Hello?" Lauren said in an uncharacteristically professional tone.

"Hi, Lauren. It's Brittany."

"Brittany! Hi!" She said excitedly. "What's up?"

"Are you near a TV?"

"Yes, why?"

"Turn it on." Brittany then gave her the channel for the Unova League, and waited. She then heard an audible gasp. "Yep, figured."

"I'll—I'll call you back, alright?" Lauren hung up. Brittany then dialed another number before continuing to watch the match.

* * *

"Staraptor, let's go!" Niko called out. "Aerial ace!"

"Mandibuzz, dark pulse!" Hunter commanded. His Pokémon—a large, vulture-like creature with a bone acting as a hair tie in the back of her head, conjured a powerful nexus of dark energy at her opponent. Staraptor, still as capable of a flier as he was when Niko left, agilely dodged the move and slammed into Mandibuzz, dragging her down to the ground. "Air slash!"

"Double team!" Niko shouted. Staraptor duplicated himself, making it more difficult for Mandibuzz to use a close-range air slash. Ultimately, she missed, and gave Staraptor an opportunity to get back into the air and create distance between the two of them. "Now, aerial ace again!"

"Dark pulse again." Hunter said, plainly this time. He seemed more comfortable, even. This didn't concern Niko—if all went well, he wouldn't for long. Once more, Staraptor missed and hit Mandibuzz, dragging the Bone Vulture Pokémon across the field, which in the case of this battle was a grassy one. All of the full battles in the Vertress Conference would take place on a different type of field. This one happened to be a grassland. Mandibuzz, to get Staraptor off of her, knocked the Predator Pokémon backwards with a third dark pulse before following up with an air slash, cutting through the air with her wings to hit her opponent.

"Double team!" Niko shouted just as the air slash hit, knowing Hunter would go in for another attack. He did, commanding Mandibuzz to use another dark pulse that missed. "Pfft. Staraptor, finish it off with brave bird!"

"Finish it off? Niko, please…" Hunter shouted back. "You won't defeat me. Not this time. Mandibuzz, brave bird as well!"

A blue aura burst around both Pokémon as they rushed towards one another, eventually crashing in the middle of the grassy field and repelling one another. Staraptor rolled across the grass before using the momentum from rolling to help himself back onto his feet. Mandibuzz, on the other hand, couldn't get back up.

"Mandibuzz is unable to battle, Staraptor is the winner! Hunter will second out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Niko's not doing so bad!" Warren said.

"This happened last time, I think." Niko's mother said. "So…I wouldn't be celebrating quite yet." This soured the mood a little.

"Fine, Niko. You want to play hard ball? Let's play. Haxorus, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Axe Jaw Pokémon that now characterized his team in Unova.

"Staraptor, return." Niko said plainly, exchanging pokéballs. "Serperior, let's go!" He shouted.

"Oh, pfft. You're going to try _that_ again? Do you not remember the World Tournament?"

"Do you not remember being a disrespectful jerk? Because I do. Serperior, coil!"

The Regal Pokémon wrapped herself, emitting a light, transparent aura. Meanwhile, Haxorus used dragon dance, with a red and purple aura surrounding it as well. Niko and Serperior both watched their opponents, waiting for the right time to strike.

"Now! Leaf blade!" Niko shouted.

"Dragon claw!" Hunter commanded. Haxorus rushed across the grass, claws bursting with red and white energy. Serperior slithered along the field, her tail glowing a bright green. They met in the middle, evenly matched in speed. Serperior flung herself forward, tail-first, into a somersault to meet Haxorus' dragon claw. The two attacks collided magnificently. Serperior repeated the attack, now sitting down on the grass with her tail sticking out, whacking and parrying Haxorus' blows. She eventually found a weak spot, and stabbed the Axe Jaw Pokémon in the side, knocking it back before lunging forward.

"Coil!" Niko shouted, and Serperior wrapped herself around Haxorus. "Now, giga drain!"

A green aura enveloped both Serperior and Haxorus as the former drained energy from the latter. Haxorus was unable to move—Serperior had wrapped herself in a way that prevented its small hands from moving anywhere.

"Dragon dance!" Hunter shouted, which confused Niko. If Haxorus couldn't use an attack, why would it use dragon dance?

 _For when it's not wrapped up…right._ Niko said. "Serperior, be careful!" He then commanded her to let go and use leaf blade, which resulted in her smacking Haxorus upside the head and landing back on the ground before using a second leaf blade across the side of the Axe Jaw, who managed to grab her tail this time.

"Throw Serperior!" Hunter shouted. Haxorus, with its increased strength courtesy of dragon dance, spun around and slammed Serperior onto the ground. "And dragon pulse!"

"Leaf tornado!" Niko shouted, and Serperior quickly summoned a vortex of leaves from the tip of her tail at Haxorus, forcing it to let her go. "Now, coil around Haxorus again!"

"Not this time, Niko! Dragon claw!" Hunter shouted angrily. However, Serperior still managed to outpace her opponent, quickly wrapping herself around, constricting the Axe Jaw Pokémon's movements.

"Now, _throw_ Haxorus!" Niko shouted. Serperior tilted herself backwards and spun through the air, landing Haxorus on its head and letting go. "Leaf blade!" Serperior's tail began to glow again and slashed at the Axe Jaw Pokémon, who was now struggling to get back up.

"Oh…man." Warren said. "Serperior is kicking ass now."

"She always has." Charlotte said with a smirk. "But she has more of a reason to this time."

Haxorus, after attempting to get back up, crumbled on its stomach.

"Haxorus is unable to battle, Serperior is the winner! Hunter will now send out his third Pokémon!"

Niko noticed Hunter looking visibly frustrated now, and could faintly hear him uttering a series of choice words. He then pulled out a third pokéball, this time sending out Bisharp. "Serperior, return." Niko repeated.

"What?" Hunter said with surprise—a new intonation from Niko's perspective.

"Feraligatr, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Let's start off with whirlpool!"

The Big Jaw Pokémon raised his arms and conjured a powerful swirling twister of water before throwing it across the field at Bisharp. The Sword Blade Pokémon dodged the attack and dashed towards Feraligatr, eventually landing a slash attack on him. Feraligatr groaned from the attack, but quickly retaliated with a less effective ice punch and knocking Bisharp to the ground.

"Hydro pump!"

"X-scissor!" Hunter snapped. Bisharp managed to block the strong gush of water, but it was ephemeral at best, since Feraligatr used a second ice punch, this time past its arm-blades and aimed at the metal ribcage lining Bisharp's torso, launching Bisharp off of the field and into the side of the stadium, right under some spectators.

"Feraligatr, return." Niko said, again plainly. Ignoring Hunter's confusion, he sent out his next Pokémon. "Numel, you're up buddy!"

"So that's his first fire type?" Warren said with wonder, and Niko's mother nodded.

"Numel has a special connection with Niko in that regard. They went through a bit in their early days as trainer-and-Pokémon." She mentioned.

"Numel, flamethrower!" Niko shouted. Expectedly, Bisharp evaded the move and charged at the Numb Pokémon. "Now, magnitude!"

Numel, sensing the raw energy within Niko, cried out as he aggressively shook the ground around him. Bisharp struggled to maintain balance, eventually regaining it, but losing momentum in the process. _Now's our chance_. Niko thought to himself.

"Numel, earth power!" He called out. Numel jumped a few inches into the air before landing back down, creating shockwaves under the grassy battlefield. The vibrations hit Bisharp in a powerful burst of energy sent upwards, launching the Sword Blade Pokémon into the air. "Now, flamethrower!"

"X-scissor!" Hunter commanded. Bisharp shot downwards, spinning through the air and through the fire before landing on Numel and slashing hard at his face. Unfortunately for it, Bisharp hit Numel on the forehead.

"Oh…Hunter that was a bad idea." Niko said, and watched as Numel spit out a jet of blue fire at Bisharp, sending it flying across the now-charred grass, nearly hitting Hunter straight-on. Bisharp collapsed onto the ground behind its trainer.

"Bisharp is unable to battle, Numel is the winner!" The referee declared. "Hunter will now use his fourth Pokémon!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Hunter shouted, returning Bisharp.

"And now we are halfway through the battle!" Colton Goodshow announced. "So far, Hunter from Castelia City has lost three Pokémon, while Niko from Pallet Town, having used four of his six Pokémon, hasn't lost a single one!"

"This is incredible." Warren said. "Makes you wonder why Niko lost the first time."

"They weren't as fired up as they were then." Niko's mother said. "And…they were very fired up last year, if that gives you any indication of anything."

Warren nodded in response.

"Drapion! Go!" Hunter shouted, angrily throwing his fourth pokéball out. "Use cross poison!" The Ogre Scorpion Pokémon conjured a white and purple "x" mark in between its crossed claws and launched it at the Numb Pokémon, who wasn't quick enough to dodge it first. "Hone claws, and cross poison again!" He snapped. Niko had never seen Hunter this mad before—it was almost maniacal in fact.

"Numel, earth power!" Niko shouted, but he saw Numel wince. _Poisoned…_ He thought. "Numel, we have to keep going buddy. You _can_ win this!" He said calmly. He noticed a nod, and then Numel leapt into the air. As he did, he was struck with the cross poison, which knocked him back to the ground and disrupted the attack. "Dammit…" Niko muttered. _Numel has difficulty getting back up…_

"Venoshock!" Hunter shouted, and the Ogre Scorpion Pokémon spit out liquid poison from its mouth, across the field and at Numel in an archlike motion. "Now, night slash!"

Drapion scuttled across the grass towards the poisoned Numel and slashed at him mercilessly. Niko realized that Drapion's power was coming solely from Hunter's rage—there was a connection between them that Niko now understood better. He then realized Toxicroak had that same connection, and likely a stronger one due to it being Hunter's "ace" Pokémon.

"Numel, flamethrower!" Niko shouted. While Drapion slashed and cut at Numel, who was still unable to get back onto his feet, the Numb Pokémon turned his head towards Drapion and belted out a jet of flame before feeling the poison surge through him one more time. Numel's head then fell to the ground, and he didn't get back up.

"Numel is unable to battle, Drapion is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Numel, return. Well done, buddy. I'm very proud of you, still." He said, eying Hunter as he did so. His rival looked incredibly pleased with himself, especially considering Drapion was at a disadvantage.

"If that's your best, Niko, then I'm sorry for you." Hunter spat out.

"Dude, you've seen some of my best already—they beat yours." Niko replied. "Here's one of them again—Feraligatr, I choose you!" He shouted proudly, throwing a pokéball high into the air. "Feraligatr, hydro pump!"

"Venoshock!" Hunter snapped. Drapion spit out another round of liquid poison, which was quickly repelled by the jet of water emanating from Feraligatr's mouth. "Cross poison!"

"Block with whirlpool!" Niko shouted. Once more, Feraligatr held his opponent at a draw. "Now, ice punch!"

"Cross poison!" Hunter commanded. Feraligatr punched the purple and white "x" in the middle of the field, ending in a third stalemate. "Night slash!" Hunter shouted. It was clear he had no strategy anymore. To be fair, Niko was also trying to pelt Drapion with attacks, but it was part of a larger strategy.

"Ice punch!" Niko shouted. "And again!" He called out after Feraligatr blocked the night slash with his frozen fist. Feraligatr kept this up before finally slamming an ice punch across Drapion's face, hitting the white fangs curving outside of its mouth. The Ogre Scorpion Pokémon stumbled to the side a little before Feraligatr used hydro pump at close range, knocking Drapion to the ground. "Whirlpool!"

"FERA!" Feraligatr shouted, conjuring a swirling torrent of water and landing it on Drapion, engulfing it in the vortex that eventually spit Drapion out to the side.

"Now, ice punch again!" Niko shouted, noticing that Drapion was wet from the two consecutive water moves. Feraligatr ran towards Drapion and slammed his fist into the other side of its face, knocking it to the ground a second time.

"Drapion, night slash!" Hunter said, but his Pokémon wasn't moving. "Drapion! I said use—!" He paused, noticing that Drapion was frozen. "WHAT!?"

"Feraligatr, use crunch!" Niko shouted. The Big Jaw Pokémon shot down towards Drapion, sinking his teeth into the Ogre Scorpion's hard exterior. Niko could audibly hear the crunch. "Now, hydro pump!" He called out, noticing how Feraligatr shot backwards from the force of the attack, ultimately coming to a halt at the midpoint of the field. Hunter's jaw dropped when he realized Drapion couldn't get back up.

"Drapion is unable to battle, Feraligatr is the winner!" The referee declared. "Hunter will now use his fifth Pokémon!"

"Drapion is one of his strongest, isn't it?" Warren asked. Niko's mother nodded, looking in disbelief.

Niko smiled, realizing that his Feraligatr had defeated one of Hunter's most powerful Pokémon with relative ease. "You guys practiced while I was gone, didn't you?" He asked, surprised that it didn't cross his mind before this battle began. Feraligatr turned and nodded with a smirk. _They knew…they always knew_.

Meanwhile, Hunter stood still, only moving to return Drapion to its pokéball. Niko could faintly see the rage welling up inside him.

"Volcarona, go." He finally said, just as it looked like the referee was about to call a forfeit. Out of Hunter's fifth pokéball was the same Pokémon Niko, Warren, and Charlotte had seen in the Relic Castle; or, at least, the same species. It was massive white moth with six red and orange-colored wings. It floated in the air a foot above the ground.

"Feraligatr, return." Niko said. This seemed to piss off Hunter, who lightly stomped on the ground. "Oh, chill out, man." Niko shouted. "Rampardos, let's go!"

Now, Niko heard a laugh from Hunter. "Heh. I can see it's still alive, isn't it?" He said with a villainous smirk. "No matter—Volcarona and Toxicroak can handle it, just like last time."

"No no…not like last time." Niko replied. "Rampardos, let's show Hunter what you've learned since then." He said.

"Volcarona, hurricane!" Hunter shouted.

"Rampardos, HEAD SMASH!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. The Head Butt Pokémon lowered his shiny red head and was suddenly surrounded by a whitish-red aura, making it seem almost black and white. Rampardos then shot towards Volcarona, head pointing forward. "That's right buddy, let's go!" He called out.

The hurricane whipped up by Volcarona attempted to carry Rampardos into the air—at least, that was the intent. However, Rampardos did everything he could to resist it. Eventually, he found himself rising up a few feet, but he was now close enough to Volcarona that it inadvertently gave him a boost that rocketed him back down towards the Sun Pokémon. Volcarona crashed into the ground behind it with Rampardos on top. A cloud of dust erupted from underneath the two.

Once it dissipated, Niko saw Rampardos dizzily walk backwards from the impact. In the ground, Volcarona lay, unable to move.

Niko's jaw dropped this time. Rampardos defeated Volcarona in a single shot. "Geez…overpowered much, Rampardos?"

"Volcarona is unable to battle, Rampardos is the winner!" The referee declared. The crowd cheered as Niko and Rampardos exchanged looks.

"Only one left…" Warren said in disbelief. "Was this how it was when Hunter beat Niko?"

"It was the opposite, actually. Niko only defeated two of Hunter's Pokémon, if I recall correctly." Niko's mother said.

"That Toxicroak will be tough to beat." Charlotte said, a genuine look of concern on her face. "Niko's never gotten close to beating it before. I don't think anyone has."

Hunter stood silent, clearly now deep in thought. He had now seen five of Niko's six Pokémon. He had only one left, and he had to made it count, or else he's obviously lose.

"Toxicroak, win this." He finally said. The Toxic Mouth Pokémon leapt out of its pokéball and immediately rushed at Rampardos with no instructions, claws glowing purple.

"Rampardos, slow it with flamethrower!" Niko shouted. The Head Butt Pokémon belted out a jet of fire that hit Toxicroak and indeed slowing it down, but only a little. "Now, zen headbutt!"

Rampardos' head lit up in a light red aura, sparking with energy, as he charged to meet Toxicroak. The two collided powerfully, sending shock waves across the field, even ripping up blades of grass close to them. Rampardos dug deep into the ground, hoping to press against Toxicroak with as much force as he could. Eventually, he did, dragging the Toxic Mouth Pokémon across the field and knocking it over.

"Return, Rampardos." Niko said. "Feraligatr, go!" He shouted, summoning the Big Jaw Pokémon. "Use hydro pump!"

Feraligatr unleashed a jet of water at Toxicroak, who was in the process of getting back up. The hydro pump knocked him back down, angering Hunter.

"Feraligatr, return." Niko said again, and calmly. "Staraptor, I choose you!"

"What's Niko doing…?" Warren asked.

"No idea." Charlotte replied.

"Staraptor, aerial ace!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand into the air. The Predator Pokémon rose high up and dove down at Toxicroak, who retaliated with a poison jab before falling to the ground alongside his opponent. "Close combat!"

Staraptor spun on his body and kicked at Toxicroak before slapping him with his wings. Toxicroak, in turn, stabbed at Staraptor with poison jab once before getting knocked back down with another kick from close combat. Staraptor then rose back into the air, when Niko promptly returned him.

"Staraptor, come back." Niko said calmly. It was clear now what he was doing. It was, by all measures, an odd strategy, and he in particular felt odd about doing it. But he figured he was going to win now—he had too many Pokémon that were healthy enough to defeat Toxicroak. "Serperior, let's go!"

"Toxicroak, we can win this!" Hunter snapped. "WIN THIS NOW!"

Toxicroak got up and rushed at Serperior, both claws glowing bright purple. Serperior retaliated by swatting at the Toxic Mouth Pokémon in the side with leaf blade, launching him to the left and into the grass. Serperior then used leaf tornado that emitted from her tail and struck Toxicroak head-on.

"Now, coil!" Niko shouted as he saw Toxicroak getting back up. Serperior rushed forward and quickly wrapped herself around the amphibious Pokémon. "And…throw it!" Serperior spun around and unfurled her tail, launching Toxicroak across the field in an archlike motion. "Serperior, return." Niko finally said, staring Hunter down. "How does it feel?"

"HOW DOES WHAT FEEL?" He spat out.

"Losing. It's clear you can't take it well." Niko said. "This is for my friends that you've insulted. For JJ and Lauren and Charlotte. And for my Pokémon: Rampardos, and now Prinplup. I choose you!" Niko shouted decisively, summoning the Penguin Pokémon. "You're last, buddy—make it count. Prinplup, drill peck!"

"That's the one that Hunter used to own?" Warren asked. Once more, Niko's mother nodded. "Wow. Impressive."

Prinplup charged at Toxicroak, running faster than Niko had ever seen him run. His beak was elongated further out than it normally was. Prinplup stabbed Toxicroak in the shoulder, causing it to stumble. Niko then commanded him to use hydro pump, which successfully knocked Toxicroak off of his feet and onto the ground.

"WATER PULSE!" Niko shouted, as loud as he could. Prinplup conjured a pulsating blue orb of water that he forcefully brought down on Toxicroak. The orb burst upon contact, spraying water everywhere. Prinplup stood over Toxicroak, staring it down aggressively.

Toxicroak looked up at Prinplup and, before laying his head back on the grass, smirked.

"Toxicroak is unable to battle, Prinplup is the winner. The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared, throwing up a white flag in Niko's direction.

"YES!" Warren shouted as he stood up with Sydney and Charlotte, all three of them cheering wildly.

"HE DID IT!" Brittany screamed, hugging each of her Pokémon in her hotel room.

"He did it…" Lauren said as she stood and watched the TV from her office in her frontier facility. "He really did it." She smirked. "Good job, Niko."

Niko, meanwhile, only looked at Prinplup, who turned and walked towards Niko as Toxicroak disappeared behind him. Moments later, the two broke into a run, where Niko slide across the charred grass and, on his knees, hugged Prinplup.

"I'm so proud of you, buddy." He said. "You and all of your teammates. I could not be prouder of you than I am right now." He could feel the back of his shoulder dampening a little—Prinplup was crying. "And…I really am sorry for leaving you and everyone else. I meant it when I first said it, and I mean it now." He let go of Prinplup and looked directly at him. "And sometimes I don't think I deserve to be your trainer, but I definitely want you all in my life. I know that much."

Prinplup nodded in return.

* * *

Upon seeing his friends on the other end of the tunnel, Niko was taking in by a full-body tackle that nearly knocked him over. He looked to see Warren squeezing him tightly.

"You did it!" He shouted. "You beat Hunter!"

"I did. We…we did." He said, looking down at Prinplup next to him.

"Oh, right. Hi!" Warren said, reaching his hand down to the Penguin. "You kicked ass out there, buddy!"

Prinplup returned it with a slap on Warren's palm. Niko then turned to Sydney, who gave him a tight hug as well, and then his mother.

"You did amazing out there, son." She said. When she let go, Niko saw Charlotte there, who went in for a hug as well.

"I told you." She muttered. "I told you you'd win."

"And I did, didn't I?" Niko said, laying his chin on her head. "Somehow, you're always right."

The group watched the remaining battles to decide the Top 8. Niko ended up catching Elliot's match against a trainer from Virbank City. He also noticed the woman with the Infernape—Harmony. Both trainers won their matches by only losing a few Pokémon—Elliot lost three, Harmony two, and both were proceeding with Niko to the quarterfinals.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! What a day of battling! We are now down to the final eight trainers. Beginning tomorrow, these eight will compete in the next round to determine our final four, who will compete in the semifinals tomorrow evening. And so, by the end of tomorrow, we will have decided the final two trainers!" Colton Goodshow excitedly announced over the microphone. "Without further ado, let's see who's up against whom!"

Niko watched as the eight profiles flipped, randomly shifted around on the monitor, and then flipped back again, revealing four pairs. Surprisingly, Niko didn't recognize his opponent.

"That's the guy that battled before you, Niko." Warren said. "His name is Dan. He looked pretty tough, but I think you could beat him."

"If I do, then I've improved. I've never made it past the quarterfinals." Niko said.

"And you will." Sydney said. "We believe you will."

"Yup." Charlotte said, patting Niko on the back.

"Thanks, Charlotte, everyone." Niko said, looking back at Dan's profile.

* * *

Niko was walking with his mother and friends to go to dinner when he saw Hunter walking towards downtown Vertress City. "Hey, guys, go on without me." He said.

"Niko…why?" Warren asked.

"Just go!" Niko shouted as he ran off across the grassy field separating the stadium's land from the city proper. "Hunter!" He said, calling out for his rival. The man in all black turned to see Niko, and promptly ignored him. "HUNTER!"

"What. Do. You. Want?" Hunter said as Niko stopped several feet away from him.

"I just wanted to say…good battle." Niko admitted.

"Of course you'd say that. You won it."

"No. I mean it. At first, it looked like you were really enjoying it. Then what happened?"

He noticed Hunter sigh heavily, closing his eyes and tilting his head downwards. "I've only lost one official—or unofficial—match before today. That was to Cynthia in the Sinnoh Region."

"That's right, you won the Lily of the—"

"I know I did. You don't have to tell me." Hunter paused, sighed again, and continued. "I was raised to believe that winning is all that matters. Power is all that matters. That's why I got rid of my Piplup—your Piplup. It wasn't strong enough for my standards. Only the Pokémon I own are. To lose to you hurt…a lot. I still think you're weak, and pathetic. You care too much."

"Why's that an issue?"

"Because when you let your emotions into a battle, everything hurts more, and you're more likely to make errors."

"That's not true at all. I won against you because the bond I have with my Pokémon—the emotional one—is strong. And I think that's why you lost."

"Then why have you never been able to beat me before now?"

"Because raw power does matter, but not always. That's why you lost. You relied on raw power. I relied on some strategy, but mostly on my Pokémon. Notice who I used—Serperior, who has wanted to win against a Haxorus since she first lost to yours; Rampardos, because you nearly killed him; and Prinplup, for obvious reasons. I used the others because I thought they were the best match against you. They also volunteered to fight."

"I don't understand you, Niko."

"What's not to understand? It's common decency!"

"Pokémon are used for battling. They are fighters, not just friends."

"They can be both, though." Niko said. "I think your Pokémon see you as their friend—their mentor. They look up to you. I noticed it in Toxicroak, and in Drapion. They do care a lot about you, and it would do them good to see you reciprocate those feelings. Who knows, maybe you'll beat me next time because of it."

"I disagree—that's not going to change." Hunter then turned towards Vertress City. "But I have noticed that your Pokémon have an unusual amount of determination, Niko. It's not hard to see that they've inherited that trait from you." He then turned to look at Niko, and their eyes locked. "It's clear that they too look up to you, even if you've abandoned them before. I might not agree with it, but I'd be a real dumbass if even I couldn't see that they…err…love you."

"I bet that's the first time you've ever said 'love.'" Niko said with a light chuckle.

"It's not, but nice try at a joke." Hunter said. He was still scowling, but Niko could see a small hint of a smirk etched on Hunter's face. There were a few moments of awkward tension between the two, before Hunter looked at Niko again. "Good luck."

And then he turned and left towards the city proper, leaving Niko alone with the sun setting to his right.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Welp. Niko finally won. And now he had a new, unknown opponent up next! Can he overcome this, and finally make it past the quarterfinals? Hopefully, but we'll just have to wait and see!**


	52. Crackle of the cannon

**Episode 52: Crackle of the cannon**

During dinner, Niko listened to his friends and his mother recount their impressions of his battle with Hunter. Warren was, by far, the most boisterous one, waving his arms wildly to express his points. Niko found it all incredibly entertaining, watching with amusement as Warren and Sydney talked about how Serperior threw Haxorus around.

"She really wanted to do that." Niko said. "During those couple of hours before our battle, we worked on moves. That's how I knew Rampardos had learned head smash—he didn't know it last time. And Serperior purposefully threw Staraptor around to show me her new method of attacking, which I figured could work."

"Well, it did, and you kicked ass Niko." Warren said. "Who do you think you'll battle with tomorrow?"

"I don't know. I'd like to offer it up to them again, if I can." Niko said. As of now, they had no idea that he had defeated Hunter, and part of him couldn't wait to tell them. "But This match might be more important than Hunter's."

"Right, you've never made it past this point." Charlotte replied with a nod from Niko. "You got this."

"I hope so. What do you know about this 'Dan' guy?"

"Well, in the battle we saw, he used a Samurott for sure." Warren said, looking to the others for confirmation, and for other types of Pokémon.

"I think we saw a Metagross, too." Sydney said. "I'd never seen one of those before—it looks terrifying!"

"They can be, but not terribly difficult to beat if you can get around the psychic moves." Niko said. Come to think of it—he had no way of doing that, since none of his Pokémon were dark type. And his only ghost type—Lampent—was still tired from her two battles, and likely not ready to take on a Metagross from a seasoned trainer.

After dinner, Niko grabbed the bag of reserve Pokémon—which now included his Unova Pokémon—that his mother had brought him and placed them in the field outside the Vertress Stadium. He also sent out the full team that had defeated Hunter.

"So," Niko began, looking at all of them. The only Pokémon not present was Eelektross, which Niko hoped to bring back from Professor Juniper to add to his newly enlarged pack of reserve Pokémon. "We won."

His Pokémon's eyes widened as they all cheered. Some of them ran up to the exhausted team of Pokémon and embraced them. Venusaur gave his nod of approval to Serperior, Feraligatr, and Prinplup before turning to Niko and smiling. Niko returned the smile.

"Our next match is the quarterfinals. That's where we've lost in the past three Pokémon Leagues. Most of you remember those matches against Elliot, Melinda, and Hunter. Well, now we're against some guy named Dan. All I know about him is that he had a Samurott and a Metagross. So…I'm opening it up to you all—who wants to fight this time?"

Sceptile was the first to step forward. It had been some time since he battled alongside his trainer. Next, Aggron excitedly ran forward to hug Niko before offering his help. Then Yanmega and Magneton—two of Niko's older Pokémon—also joined in.

"So that leaves two. Magmortar, would you like to? You've never participated in a league match." Niko said. The Blast Pokémon looked at his trainer and nodded decisively. It dawned on Niko that he had hardly spent time with his Magmortar, even when he had caught it as a Magmar. "And…one left. Boldore." Niko said, turning to the Ore Pokémon. "Let's go."

Boldore nodded, ready to fight as well.

"You've got a new move you want to show off, too. A couple new moves, actually." He then turned to his newest team. "Alright guys, let's see what you're capable of now!"

* * *

"Welcome to the third day of the Vertress City Pokémon League!" Colton Goodshow announced into his microphone, which emanated throughout the entire main stadium. "Today is a big day! We will be conducting our quarterfinal and semifinal rounds! By the end of the day, only two trainers will remain! And now, with our first exciting match of the day, we have Niko from Pallet Town versus Dan from Striaton City!"

Niko looked across the battlefield—now a forested battlefield—to catch a glimpse of his opponent. Dan was a man of average height and, like Niko, sported facial hair. The difference was that his was an established beard, and Niko's was wiry and shorter, which gave off a more rugged look. The referee explained the rules of the match once more before allowing Niko and Dan to release their first Pokémon.

The battlefield was a new sight to Niko. It was a forested one this time There was a clear path between him and Dan, with trees lining each side, and was dense enough to look like a real forest. He could only imagine how difficult it would be for the audience members on both sides to see what was happening in real time. He also believed that, by the end of this battle, the forest would be decimated.

"Darmanitan, go!" Dan eventually shouted.

"Boldore, I choose you!" Niko called out. "Use stealth rock!" Niko shouted. The Ore Pokémon quickly summoned sharp, pointed rocks from underneath the ground and threw them across the field, eventually surrounding Darmanitan. Nothing in particular happened, at least until Dan switched out.

"Darmanitan, hammer arm!" Dan commanded. The Darmanitan, a red primate Pokémon with two flare emitting from above its eyes, and with arms longer than its legs, charged forward at Boldore, who remained completely still. The Blazing Pokémon's arms were now glowing bright white when it leapt through the air to land on Boldore.

"Rock slide!" Niko shouted, and a pile of rocks came from above Darmanitan and quickly brought it hurtling into the ground. "Stone edge!"

Boldore slammed his legs onto the ground, resulting in pointed blue rocks erupting from under the ground, eventually hitting Darmanitan and launching it through the air. The Blazing Pokémon landed on the ground several yards away. Suddenly, it began to glow a white color, confusing Niko.

"What the—?" Niko asked aloud. Darmanitan was now a stone! Instead of its red body, it was stone cold blue. Instead of the flares emitting from its eyebrows, there were ordinary yellow eyebrows above its unmoving eyes. Instead of its long arms, a pair of hands now rest on its body, with one on each side.

"Darmanitan, use psychic!" Dan commanded. The Blazing Pokémon's eyes began to glow as Boldore found himself rising into the air, and being around into a nearby tree trunk with enough force to break it. "Now, hammer arm!"

The stone Darmanitan leapt into the air, both hands glowing white, before it landed on Boldore, who once more brought down a rock slide to keep Darmanitan away.

"Boldore, stone edge!" Niko shouted. Once again, Boldore forced pointed blue stones to erupt from the ground, hitting Darmanitan and launching it into the air. "Finish it off with smack down!"

Boldore conjured a golden sphere with a tiny, pointed rock in the middle, and shot it towards Darmanitan, bringing the Blazing Pokémon down to the ground far faster than it normally would have. Darmanitan crashed into the ground, kicking up dust around it.

"Darmanitan is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner! Dan will now send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Return." He said. "Krookodile, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a massive black and red, bipedal crocodile with eyes that looked like black glasses sitting at the top of its enormously long snout. Just as Krookodile appeared on the field, the pointed stones from stealth rock reappeared and dug into its sides. "Use earthquake!"

"Boldore, smack down on the field!" Niko shouted. Bemused, Boldore agreed, and tiled his head to the ground before using the attack, which inadvertently launched him into the air and evading the earthquake. "Well done!" He shouted happily.

"No way…" Warren said. "Where did he learn _that_?"

Boldore landed back on the ground and immediately used stone edge, which Krookodile dodged before charging towards it, claws glowing a bright purple color. It slashed at Boldore with dragon claw, successfully landing the attack, before opening its mouth wide and crunching down on the Ore Pokémon's hard exterior. To this, Boldore certainly felt pain, which was unlike anything it had felt before.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Dan shouted. Krookodile, who was still biting down on Boldore, shook the earth underneath them, causing the trees around them to rustle violently. Krookodile then let go, letting Boldore fall backwards onto the ground in defeat.

"Boldore is unable to battle, Krookodile is the winner! Niko will send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Boldore, great job buddy. You impress me as always. Sceptile, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Forest Pokémon. "Leaf blade!"

The arm-blades originating from Sceptile's wrists began to extend and glow a pure green color as he charged forward, towards his opponent. Krookodile was prepared with his own dragon claw, and the went at it, throwing their arms and claws at one another, and parrying each other masterfully. It reminded Niko of when his Sceptile first evolved to take on Wally's Gallade. Eventually, like Serperior, Sceptile managed to hit Krookodile in the side of the body, knocking it to the ground.

"Earthquake!" Dan commanded. Krookodile aggressively shook the ground around it, trying to knock Sceptile off of his feet as well.

"Jump into the trees!" Niko said. Sceptile obliged, leaping up to a nearby branch and proceeding to jump to subsequent ones after that, trying to not remain in one spot for the duration of the earthquake. "Now, get back down and use leaf storm!"

Sceptile landed on the ground once more, turned to Krookodile, and spun around to unleash a powerful jet of leaves from his long, palm branch-shaped tail at Krookodile, who managed to stand its ground for the duration of the attack. Seeing this, Sceptile spun back around and dashed at the Intimidation Pokémon to strike with leaf blade instead. Krookodile was ready, and retaliated with dragon claw, bringing them back to square one.

Niko had to think about his next step. It seemed like, despite Sceptile having an edge, the match seemed to be coming to a draw. If he wanted to do something crazy, now was the time.

"Sceptile, fall back!" Niko shouted. The forest Pokémon slashed at Krookodile once more before leaping into the air, high above his opponent, and somersaulting over him to run back towards Niko. "We're going to finish Krookodile…now."

Sceptile, knowing exactly what his trainer was alluding to, nodded.

"Use frenzy plant!" Niko shouted, thrusting a hand into the air. Sceptile turned to Krookodile. Niko noticed the Forest Pokémon's yellow nodules on its back began to illuminate. Sceptile cried out, and massive roots shot up from under the ground, all heading towards Krookodile. The dozen or so long, spiked roots slapped at the Intimidation Pokémon, who attempted to retaliate with dragon claw and earthquake, but failed in both attempts. Niko watched as Sceptile, now exhausted, collapsed onto a single knee, while Krookodile collapsed face-forwards.

"Krookodile is unable to battle, Sceptile is the winner!" The referee declared. "Dan will now use his third Pokémon!"

"Return. Well done. Simisage, you're up!" Dan shouted, sending out a short, green primate with a long tuft of green fur pointing upwards between its two ovular-shaped ears.

"Sceptile, return." Niko said, exchanging pokéballs of his own. "Yanmega, you're up!"

"Simisage, acrobatics!" Dan shouted. Simisage then leapt into action, gracefully leaping across the field—through the trees—towards its opponent.

"Double team!" Niko shouted. Yanmega generated duplicates of himself to confuse Simisage. "Now, bug buzz!" To which the Ogre Darner Pokémon emitted a painfully loud sound from his body. Simisage, bothered by the sound, lost its balance and fell out of the tree. "Now, air slash!

Yanmega's wing tips started to glow before he shot out a single blade of air at Simisage, successfully hitting the Thorn Monkey Pokémon, who was pushed backwards from the force of the attack.

"Rock tomb!" Dan shouted. Simisage got back up—albeit slowly—and summoned rocks from the ground towards Yanmega, who used double team to skillfully dodge each one before using another bug buzz to keep the primate Pokémon down. "Bullet seed!"

"Block it with air slash!" Niko shouted. Yanmega obliged again. "Now, bug buzz!" For the third time, Yanmega emitted a horrible sound, forcing Simisage to drop to the ground, unable to move.

"Simisage is unable to battle, Yanmega is the winner! Dan will now use his fourth Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Lapras, let's go!" Dan shouted, sending out a familiar-looking Pokémon to Niko. "Use ice beam!"

"Double team, Yanmega!" Niko commanded. The Ogre Darner Pokémon duplicated himself several times before Lapras unleashed a stream of ice. "Now, ancientpower!"

"Protect!" Dan called out. A protective sphere generated around the Transport Pokémon, blocking the ancientpower from hitting. "Now, hydro pump!" Lapras, moving faster than Niko expected, unleashed a jet of water that brought down every duplicate of Yanmega before hitting the real one.

"Bug buzz!" Niko shouted. Once more, Yanmega emitted a terrible sound that made Lapras wince, but nevertheless retaliate with an ice beam that hit the Ogre Darner Pokémon's wing, successfully knocking it out of the sky. "Yanmega!"

"Hydro pump!" Dan commanded, thrusting his own hand forward. Lapras blasted Yanmega with a huge blast of high-speed water, dragging the bug type backwards before hitting a tree trunk. Niko tried issuing a move for Yanmega to use, but the Ogre Darner Pokémon wasn't responding.

"Yanmega is unable to battle, Lapras is the winner! Niko will now use his fourth Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"So far, Niko doesn't seem to be doing so bad." Warren commented. "He's lost two, and Dan's lost three."

"True. But it isn't like it'll get easier, right?" Charlotte muttered.

"Do you not think he can do it?"

"No! I totally believe he can. It's just…not easy, you know?" Charlotte said defensively.

"Aggron, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning the Iron Armor Pokémon. "Use autotomize!" Aggron began to illuminate, albeit briefly, before waiting for Niko again. "Now, iron head!"

Everyone watched in amazement as Aggron rushed across the forested field, much faster than he usually was. Surprised as well, Dan found himself taken off guard, and instinctively asked Lapras to use protect to block the attack. It worked, and Aggron was pushed back from the force of the impact with the protective shield.

"Hydro pump!" Dan shouted.

"Dodge, and use autotomize!" Niko commanded. Using his newfound speed, Aggron moved out of the way of the high-pressure jet of water before lightening himself once more. "Iron tail!"

"Hydro pump!" Dan commanded. The Transport Pokémon used the move again, trying to stop Aggron, but the Iron Armor Pokémon managed to evade a second time and spin around, slamming his heavy, powerful tail into the side of Lapras, knocking it around.

"Iron head!" Niko shouted. Aggron then lowered his head and pushed against Lapras' side, dragging the Transport Pokémon through the forest.

"HYDRO PUMP!" Dan shouted for a third time. This time, it worked—Aggron was hit on the top of the head and pushed into the ground, pressed down by the water. Once the attack was finished, Aggron simply lay there, unable to move for a moment before slowly getting back up. "Finish it off with brine." Dan said plainly. Lapras opened its maw and unleashed a jet of salty water at Aggron's head, bringing the Iron Armor Pokémon to the ground again, this time in defeat.

"Aggron is unable to battle, Lapras is the winner!" The referee announced. "Niko will now use his fifth Pokémon!"

"Aggron, return. You did well, buddy." He said, exchanging pokéballs. "Magneton, I'm counting on you!" He said, throwing out a pokéball containing his trusty magnet trio. "It's been awhile, buddy. Let's do this." Magneton turned to Niko and nodded fiercely. "Let's start off with a thunderbolt!"

"Lapras, protect!" Dan shouted. The Transport Pokémon managed to once more block an attack, this time a bolt of lightning emanating from Magneton. "Now bulldoze!"

"What the…?" Niko asked. Lapras slammed its front flippers onto the ground, causing vibrations under the earth to come to the surface. Trees collapsed in the wake of the attack, and Magneton looked to be severely hurt from it. "Magneton! Are you alright?"

Wincing, the Magnet Pokémon nodded.

"Alright then, if that's how you want to play this. Magneton, use magnet bomb!"

Magneton conjured several light blue steel-like orbs and launched them all at Lapras, berating the Transport Pokémon. Niko then commanded a thunderbolt, which successfully hit this time and temporarily stunned Lapras.

"Now's our chance, Magneton! Use zap cannon!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. A sphere of electricity appeared in front of the Magnet Pokémon, ever growing as it added electricity to the attack. Eventually, it got large enough that it looked like it was exhausting Magneton of his electric abilities. "LAUNCH IT!"

A massive crackling sound rang through the stadium as the zap cannon shot. A beam of electric energy crossed the field and struck the paralyzed Lapras and resulted in an explosion that lasted for several seconds. It took some time for the smoke to clear before Niko, Magneton, Dan, and the entire stadium could see the result.

"Lapras is unable to battle, Magneton is the winner! Dan will now use his fifth Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Return, Lapras." Dan said, looking a little frustrated. "Metagross, let's go!" He shouted, summoning a familiar-looking, four-legged Pokémon made entirely of iron.

"Return, Magneton." Niko also said, exchanging pokéballs. "Magmortar, you're up!"

"You're kidding…" Niko heard Dan mutter. "Metagross, use psychic!"

"Magmortar, sunny day!" Niko shouted. Just before Metagross' psychic abilities engulfed his Pokémon, Magmortar lifted his arm-cannons to the sky and brightened the field. Niko smirked—he now believed that he might win this battle. Before that, though, Magmortar was thrown around the forested battlefield without mercy. Niko waited, though—he knew the Blast Pokémon had more in him then was immediately clear. Once Metagross let go of Magmortar, Niko shouted for him to use flamethrower. Out of one of his arms, Magmortar unleashed a jet of orange flames across the field towards Metagross, who attempted to repel it with hammer arm, but failed to effectively block the attack.

"Meteor mash!" Dan shouted. The Iron Leg Pokémon charged across the field, ripping up grass behind it.

"Flamethrower! Slow it down!" Niko commanded. Magmortar brought up both hands and shot out jets of fire from them and managed to successfully slow down the Metagross enough that the attack lost all of its momentum. "Now, fire punch!"

Magmortar's arm lit up in flames as he charged at Metagross. The fire punch and meteor mash collided, resulting in a small shock wave emanating from the point of impact.

"Psychic!"

"Flamethrower!" Niko shouted. Just as Magmortar lifted his other arm and sprayed flames at Metagross' underbelly, the Iron Leg Pokémon's eyes started glowing, resulting in Magmortar being lifted up and thrown backwards, the flames still emitting from his arm.

"Agility, and then hammer arm!" Dan commanded. Metagross burst forward, all four legs glowing a bright white as it collided with Magmortar, slamming each iron leg into the Blast Pokémon and slamming him into the ground. "Now, meteor mash!"

"Lava plume!" Niko called out. Magmortar dizzily shot out magma from his arm, hitting Metagross in the face and knocking it backwards. "Finish it off with fire punch!" Magmortar's arm-cannon lit up in flames as he thrust it forward, punching Metagross' underbelly and sending it flying towards his trainer. Metagross collapsed onto the grass several feet from Dan with a massive _thud_.

"Metagross is unable to battle, Magmortar is the winner! Dan will now send out his sixth and final Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Metagross, return." Dan said, looking frustrated now. Niko knew that frustration quite well. "Samurott, you're up!" He shouted, summoning a blue, sea-lion like Pokémon. It had two pairs of pointed teeth, one in the upper jaw and another in the lower jaw. Long, white whiskers extended from its snout and head. On the back of its head was a large, rounded beige helmet-like shell with spikes and a spear-like, pointed protrusion in the front. A dull bluish gray seashell-like carapace covered its underbelly, and its limbs are covered with beige, sectioned bracer-like coverings that appeared to be made of seashells.

"Magmortar, return." Niko said. "Sceptile, let's go!"

"Guys…I think Niko's gonna win this one." Warren said in shock. Niko's mother nodded as well.

"Hmm…" Dan said audibly enough for Niko to hear. "Samurott, megahorn!"

"Sceptile, leaf storm!" Niko shouted. The Forest Pokémon turned around and unleashed a vortex of leaves at his new opponent. Samurott charged forward nonetheless, it's spear glowing bright white. It seemed to ignore the leaf storm as it slashed at Sceptile, knocking the grass type to the side and collapsing onto the ground. "Leaf blade!"

Sceptile lurched around in time to block Samurott's next move—razor shell. The two engaged in a quick sword-fighting match, neither gaining the high ground for some time. However, Niko noticed Sceptile getting tired—its battle with Krookodile had clearly exhausted it.

"Don't give up, Sceptile! Keep going!" Niko said, understanding that Samurott, who was making its debut, was more likely to win against Sceptile. Nevertheless, Niko wanted his Pokémon to do as much damage to this new Pokémon as he possibly could, to make it easier for the others to finish it off. "You got this! Use bullet seed!"

Sceptile, while holding his leaf blade, opened his mouth and pelted Samurott with bullet seeds, knocking it backwards and onto the ground.

"Now, leaf storm!" Niko shouted. Sceptile whipped around and hit Samurott with the vortex of leaves once more.

"Aqua jet!" Dan shouted. Samurott quickly got back up and lunged at its opponent, its body encased in blue water as it did so. It hit Sceptile in the back, knocking the Forest Pokémon onto his face. "Megahorn!"

"Sceptile, get up! Quick!" Niko called out, but it was too late. Sceptile was far too exhausted, and Samurott was an unusually agile Pokémon, slashing its seashell spear at Sceptile's back. Samurott then backed off to wait for Sceptile to get back up. He did, albeit slowly, and turned to Samurott before using bullet seed successfully, and then falling forward in defeat.

"Sceptile is unable to battle, Samurott is the winner! Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"

"It's all up to Magneton now…" Warren said, looking over at the scoreboard displayed on a monitor that showed Niko's last two Pokémon—Magmortar and Magneton—still in the battle, and Dan's Samurott on the other side.

"So…he can definitely win this." Charlotte said with a smirk.

"Magneton, you're up!" Niko shouted. "Hey, buddy, it's all down to you now. Think you can pull this one off?" Once more, Magneton turned to Niko and nodded with its top magnet. Each of its three eyes stared at him with a determination he hadn't seen in a while. "Good. Let's win this. Magneton, thunderbolt!"

"Samurott, aqua jet!" Dan shouted, thrusting his hand out. The Formidable Pokémon charged forward, dodging the thunderbolt and aiming to strike Magneton.

 _That was a mistake…_ Niko thought to himself. "Wait, buddy…" Niko whispered. Magneton floated above the ground, not moving. "THUNDERBOLT!"

As soon as Samurott struck Magneton, the thunderbolt reacted with the water from aqua jet and created a massive explosion, launching both Pokémon in opposite directions. Magneton was thrust into the ground, and Samurott was sent hurtling high into the air before landing on the other end of the field.

Just as Niko thought, Magneton quickly got back up, hardly fazed from the attack and, without Niko's help, conjured a second sphere of electricity in front of him. Niko saw Dan's eyes widen, and heard him frantically yell at Samurott to get back up. Just as the Formidable Pokémon did, Magneton unleashed the zap cannon, and a crackle of lightning sounded throughout the stadium again. A jet of electricity fired off across the forested battlefield, hitting Samurott and resulting in a second explosion.

As soon as the smoke settled, Samurott stumbled forward, smiling at Magneton as it collapsed onto the grass under it.

"Samurott is unable to battle, Magneton is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Niko—not as surprised as he thought—looked at an overly exhausted Magneton with pride. He walked over and embraced the Magnet Pokémon from behind.

"We're going to the semifinals, Magneton." Niko said. "We've never done that before, and it's because of you. You, and the others who fought, but mostly you." He didn't feel tears emitting from Magneton, like he did with Prinplup after beating Hunter, but he did hear a weird crackling sound emitting from the Magnet Pokémon that hurt his ears a little.

* * *

"YOU DID IT!" Warren shouted, running up to Niko and embracing him tightly. "You've finally made it past the quarterfinals!"

"Your friends would be very proud of you." Niko's mother said as she walked up to him. "And so would your father."

"I hope they are." Niko said, returning his mother's hug. "Just like I'm proud of my Pokémon."

"They really did kick ass." Sydney said with a bright grin. "And…I think your friend Elliot is up now!"

Niko looked up to see a nearby monitor playing Elliot's match against a trainer from Opelucid City. There, his Emboar was battling a Stoutland and, by the looks of it, was winning. Niko continued to watch the match from the stands with his friends. In the end, Elliot won, also proceeding to the semifinals. It then occurred to Niko that he might very well have to face his other rival soon.

The next match was the woman Niko managed to notice on the a few other occasions—the one with the Infernape, Harmony. He caught parts of her match, as he was in the Pokémon Center during that one, healing up his Pokémon. He noticed she had a Slaking and a Cradily as well. In the end, she managed to win her match by only losing three Pokémon. In his match, Elliot had lost four.

"Alright, folks!" Colton Goodshow said around noon. "We have our final four! Please give a round of applause for Elliot, Harmony, Saria, and Niko!"

All four semifinalists stood on the field, destroyed during Saria's battle, and listened to the crowd cheering around them. Niko turned to each of them—one of them would be his next opponent.

"Now, we will determine who your next opponent will be! If everyone will look up to the screen above, we will show you the two pairings for the semifinal matches that will begin in four hours' time!"

Niko watched as his profile flipped over and randomly shifted around with the other three before flipping back again. This time, he wasn't surprised at all. Saria and Harmony would battle first.

Then him and Elliot.

"Best of luck, Niko." Elliot said, turning to his rival and friend. Niko returned the resulting handshake.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." Niko said with a smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hope everyone is having a good thanksgiving, if you live in America that is. If I get everything done on time, this season will finish up tomorrow, so stay tuned!**


	53. The Fiercest Rival, Part 2

**Episode 53: The Fiercest Rival, Part 2**

Niko sat down on his bed, up in the trio's suite. Minutes ago, he found out he'd be facing Elliot in the semifinals. It hardly occurred to him that he had finally progressed through the Pokémon League, and likely because the next obstacle in his way was more daunting than virtually every trainer he'd fought before, save for Hunter.

"But if I can beat Hunter, then I can beat Elliot." Niko said to himself. Some of his Pokémon were sitting in the suite with him. He had an idea of who he wanted to battle with him this time. Knowing Elliot, Niko managed to figure out most of his team, based on past encounters. "Scizor will be there for sure, and I'm sure his Zweilous will be, too. Probably Poliwrath, if he takes my challenge seriously. Emboar is another possibility, too…"

Niko spent nearly half an hour trying to map out the types of Pokémon he should use. He didn't want to throw in Magmortar again, and Numel and Lampent were not strong enough to take on Scizor. No, for Scizor Niko would have to rely on raw power and skill, not type advantages. Elliot's Scizor was a completely different Pokémon altogether, and it's likely gotten stronger since his last encounter with the Pincer Pokémon.

Eventually, he heard a rapping on the door. Outside were Charlotte, Warren, and Sydney. "What's up?" Niko asked. He knew his friends wanted to give him some alone time to strategize, and he took that opportunity.

"Saria and Harmony's match is starting now, so you don't have too much time left." Warren said urgently.

"Got it. I'm ready." Niko said confidently, running back to his bed to pick up the six pokéballs he planned to use in the upcoming battle.

"You sure?" Warren wondered.

"Of course he is." Charlotte commented. "He just said so!"

"Right…" Warren said, making way for Niko as the four of them walked down towards the stadium lobby, where they waited for the match to finish before it was Niko's turn.

"Serperior is unable to battle, Infernape is the winner!" They heard the referee announce on the television in the lobby. "The victory goes to Harmony from Black City!"

"So…you're up, Niko." Warren said. "Good luck, man."

"Good luck!" Sydney said, the couple each hugging Niko.

"Kick ass." Charlotte said, patting Niko on the arm.

"Thanks. I can do this." He smiled before walking from the lobby towards the tunnel. He had no idea what he was about to get into.

"And for our second and final semifinal match, we have Niko from Pallet Town and Elliot from Viridian City!" Colton Goodshow announced to the crowd. Cheering erupted in the stands as Niko and Elliot took opposite sides of a rocky battlefield. "Both of these trainers have graced us with some incredibly entertaining matches so far, so let's see what they bring to the table this time!"

Like always, the referee explained the rules, while Niko and Elliot both held a pokéball in their hands, ready to go.

"Emboar, I choose you!" Elliot commanded, throwing a pokéball out onto the field. Out of it erupted the familiar-looking fire pig that Niko had seen previously.

"Braviary, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning the Valiant Pokémon. "Let's get off to a good start, buddy! Use aerial ace!"

"Flare blitz!" Elliot commanded. Emboar's body lit up in flames as it charged at Braviary. The two Pokémon collided, knocking the Valiant Pokémon backwards and onto the ground, where he nearly hit a pointed rock. "Head smash!"

"Braviary, dodge and use aerial ace!" Niko shouted. Braviary quickly got back into the air a Emboar crashed into the rock behind it, shattering it into hundreds of smaller pieces. Braviary then crashed down into the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon's side, knocking it onto its right side, just as it grabbed Braviary and threw it across the battlefield and into a larger rock. "Hone claws!" Niko said, noticing that Elliot and Emboar weren't doing anything. _That's odd…why isn't he attacking?_

Braviary finished sharpening his claws when he noticed it as well, turning to Niko for an explanation. Getting none, the Valiant Pokémon took matters into his own hands and charged at Emboar with aerial ace. The white tendrils erupted out of his beak, covering the length of his body, when he crashed into Emboar. Just then, the fire pig charged across the battlefield, grabbing onto Braviary's wings and holding onto them tightly. Both of them slammed into another rock and breaking through it before Emboar threw the Valiant Pokémon onto the ground.

"Flamethrower!" Elliot commanded, and his Pokémon opened up and unleashed a jet of fire at Braviary, engulfing it in flames.

"Brave bird!" Niko shouted, and suddenly saw a bright blue aura burst out from the fire and hit Emboar, knocking it onto its back. "Crush claw!"

"Assurance!" Elliot shouted, but it was too late. Braviary's claws, illuminating a bright blue color, slashed at Emboar, leaving marks just like the burns inflicted on him from the previous fire attack. Braviary then rose into the air and finished with an air cutter, quickly defeating the Emboar.

"Emboar is unable to battle, Braviary is the winner! Elliot will use his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Return, Emboar. I should have figured, Niko, that you'd start off with a flying type. Last we battled, you seemed to have an affection for them." He said, almost pleasantly. "I thought head smash would be enough. Guess not. Mienshao, you're up!"

"Another fighting type?" Niko muttered to himself. _This is odd, coming from someone who values type advantages. Maybe that's his strategy? To throw me off by ignoring his own advice?_ "Alright then, Braviary, let's continue! Use aerial ace!"

"Wide guard!" Elliot shouted. Mienshao—a white and long-bodied Pokémon with a small head and long arms that look to be covered in white and purple fur—summoned a long-ranging protective shield around itself that Braviary was unable to penetrate, regardless of how many times or angles he tried. "Now, force palm!"

Mienshao thrust its arm out and, using some odd form of energy, threw Braviary across the field. Elliot then commanded it to use bounce, to which it responded by leaping high into the air and crashing down onto Braviary, who was too slow to retaliate. Mienshao leapt off of the Valiant Pokémon, who finally got back up and stumbled a little before, on Niko's command, thrust forward and used aerial ace, this time successfully landing his attack and knocking Mienshao backwards.

"Brave bird!" Niko shouted, knowing that Braviary would withstand the attack. The Valiant Pokémon rose high into the air before circling back towards Mienshao and crash-landing into it, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Once it dissipated, however, only Braviary was sitting there, bruised and burnt. Mienshao, on the other hand, was in the air—it had used _bounce_ again. The Martial Arts Pokémon struck Braviary in the back upon landing, kicking up more dust once again.

"You can keep going, Braviary. I believe you can." Niko said loud enough for his Pokémon to hear. "You never give up, do you?"

Braviary rose up, shaking his head. Niko then noticed his claws burst into a blue aura as he rose into the air, spun around, and slashed and clawed at Mienshao, who blocked each attack with the bent clump of fur hanging off of the tips of her hands. Braviary then dove in to use another brave bird, and Mienshao struck him in the face with what looked like drain punch, launching the Valiant Pokémon backwards, and into an already-shattered rock.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Mienshao is the winner! Niko will send out his next Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Braviary, return. You did well, buddy. Feraligatr, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his Big Jaw Pokémon. "You ready for this?" Feraligatr turned and nodded before staring down his opponent. "Use hydro pump!"

"Mienshao, dodge with bounce!" Elliot commanded. The Martial Arts Pokémon leapt high into the air, momentarily blocking out the sun before quickly descending to the ground. Feraligatr, for all intents and purposes, was prepared—his fist was now frozen.

"Ice punch!" Niko commanded. Feraligatr's chilled fist met with Mienshao's feet, creating a powerful impact that produced light shock waves. "Now, crunch!"

Feraligatr thrust his body forward and snapped at Mienshao, who dodged and kicked the Big Jaw Pokémon in the face before flipping backwards and gracefully landing on the ground. Niko then commanded his Pokémon to use whirlpool, to which Mienshao retaliated with wide guard and blocked the move. Niko grit his teeth—this Pokémon was tough, that's for sure.

"Feraligatr, hydro pump!" Niko shouted. Once more, Mienshao used bounce to flee the attack, quickly descending to strike at its opponent. This time, Niko and Feraligatr didn't respond with ice punch. "Hydro pump again!" He called out, thrusting his hand forward. Feraligatr unleashed another burst of water at his opponent, this time knocking Mienshao onto the ground. "Whirlpool!"

The Big Jaw Pokémon summoned a massive vortex of swirling water and hurled it at his opponent. Mienshao, in shock from the hydro pump, found itself caught up in the vortex, spinning around aggressively before being launched out and onto the dusty ground behind it, struggling to get back up.

"Mienshao, get back up!" Elliot commanded. "You can do this! Let's go" But Mienshao was unable to move.

"Mienshao is unable to battle, Feraligatr is the winner! Elliot will send out his third Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Hm." Warren said, sitting back. "Not bad."

"Just wait, though…" Charlotte said. "From what we know about Elliot, he's got far stronger Pokémon with him."

"Golurk, I choose you!" Elliot shouted, summoning a large, automaton Pokémon that resembled a suit of armor. It was mainly teal in color with yellow swirls on its shoulders and hands. It has a small head compared with its body, and pale yellow eyes. There was a massive crack across its chest, which was patched diagonally with a brown object that resembled a belt. It had a Roman armor-like skirt and flat feet beneath it.

"Feraligatr, return." Niko said, exchanging pokéballs. He had gotten quite used to substituting, and understood why Elliot used to do it more than he did. Yet, it seemed like the roles were reversed this time. "Venusaur, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Seed Pokémon.

"Ice punch, Golurk!" Elliot commanded. The Automaton Pokémon charged across the field, its fist covered in ice. Meanwhile, Venusaur braced himself, ready for whatever Niko wanted him to do.

"Wait for it…" Niko muttered softly, enough that Venusaur could hear him. "Now! Stun spore!"

Out of the flower on Venusaur's back came a small cloud of yellow dust that floated through the air. Golurk tried to dodge it, but nearly tripped on itself in the process. Ultimately, it ended up temporarily stunned by the spores.

"Razor leaf!" Niko shouted. Venusaur shook his body, summoning razor-sharp leaves from the flower and directed them at Golurk, who took the hit without complain. "Now, solarbeam!"

Venusaur's flower began to lightly illuminate as he collected energy for the attack. Meanwhile, Golurk struggled to move. Elliot, on the other hand, was completely silent. He knew what was coming. The stream of solar energy, nearly a minute later, launched forward at Golurk, shooting it backwards across the field and onto its back.

"Earthquake!" Elliot shouted. Golurk, while still on the ground, rumbled the area around it, enough to shake Venusaur as well.

"Frenzy plant!" Niko commanded.

"Oh?" Elliot asked, somewhat surprised. "That's right—Fay told me about this. Golurk, ice punch the roots!" He shouted as a dozen large, spiked roots erupted out of the ground and shot at the Automaton Pokémon. Golurk managed to hit some of them, freezing them with its cold touch, but was slapped around by others and eventually knocked off of its feet and onto the ground in defeat.

"Golurk is unable to battle, Venusaur is the winner!" The referee declared. "Elliot will now use his fourth Pokémon!

"Return, Golurk. Niko, I'm impressed." He said. "I don't know if you could tell, but I've been trying out a different strategy. It's the one you used against me—no switching. Isn't working out quite well for me, I've realized."

"There's still a lot of battle left, Elliot." Niko said with a smirk. "We'll see."

"Poliwrath, let's go!" Elliot shouted.

"Venusaur, return." Niko said. The Seed Pokémon needed to rest after using that frenzy plant. He didn't want it going up against Elliot's powerful Poliwrath just yet. "Eelektross, I choose you!"

"Fair enough." Elliot said, looking a little frustrated. "Poliwrath, brick break!"

"Eelektross, coil!" Niko shouted. The EleFish Pokémon wrapped himself up, lightly illuminating his body in a white, translucent glow. Poliwrath, meanwhile, charged across the field and jumped into the air, its hand straight and glowing, before landing the attack on Eelektross, who on contact summoned a thunderbolt that launched Poliwrath backwards. "Now, wild charge!"

"Poliwrath, hydro pump!" Elliot commanded. The jet of high-pressure water hit the electrically-charged Eelektross, causing an explosion that only seemed to hurt the latter. Eelektross was send backwards and into the ground, smoke billowing from around him. "Now, brick break!"

"Eelektross, coil!" Niko shouted. The EleFish once more coiled up, this time more in protection from the brick break. Again, he sent out a thunderbolt that resulted in a repeat of their first encounter. Instead, though, Eelektross used charge beam instead of wild charge, which momentarily stunned Poliwrath. Seeing his opportunity open up, Niko nodded to Eelektross. "Wild charge!"

"Poliwrath! Use hydro pump!" Elliot shouted, almost in a panic. Eelektross charged forward, ready to collide with his opponent. Meanwhile, Poliwrath was paralyzed, unable to move. However, just before Eelektross struck, the Tadpole Pokémon unexpectedly shot out hydro pump, but as close range. The resulting attack repelled both Pokémon backwards towards their trainers. The powerful Poliwrath and the less experienced, but advantaged Eelektross lay on the ground several dozens of feet from one another, exhausted from the unusually brief battle between the two of them. Niko and Elliot waited for their Pokémon to get back up, but neither seemed to be able to.

"Poliwrath and Eelektross are unable to battle!" The referee declared. "Both Elliot and Niko will send out their next Pokémon!"

"Return." They jointly said.

"Hydreigon, I choose you!" Elliot shouted, summoning a vicious-looking, three-headed draconic Pokémon with six thin, black wings that each ended in two points on its back. It had a fuchsia-colored collar on its neck which surrounds its head. The main head is dark blue and has black eyes with fuchsia pupils. Its two hands are also black and each one harbors a head. Its tail sported a fuchsia stripe and ends with a black tuft.

"Oh…oh my…" Charlotte said, pulling out her pokédex.

" _Hydreigon, the Brutal Pokémon. Dark and dragon type. It responds to movement by attacking. This scary, three-headed Pokémon devours everything in its path!_ "

"So his Deino, and then Zweilous…" Warren said. "Evolved into _that_?" He shook his head. "Lord…"

Niko eyed the Hydreigon carefully, unsure of how to respond. He knew Elliot would use a dragon type of some sort, particularly that Zweilous of his. But this newly evolved form was…different.

"Rampardos, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Ready for this? Use ancientpower!"

"Hydreigon, dragon pulse!" Elliot commanded. The Brutal Pokémon conjured two purple beams from its mouth that hit Rampardos' ancientpower, shattering the rocks into small pieces. "Now, dragon rush!"

"Rampardos, head smash!" Niko commanded. Rampardos lowered his head and charged at Hydreigon, his red head glowing from the amount of energy it was using. Both Pokémon collided powerfully in the middle of the battlefield, causing a shock wave to emit from the point of impact, and launching both of them backwards. Rampardos crashed into an undisturbed pointed rock, now shattering that one as well, while Hydreigon managed to remain airborne, only looking a little dizzy from the impact. The Head Butt Pokémon slowly got back up, already looking exhausted.

"Hydreigon, draco meteor!" Elliot commanded. Niko's eyes widened when he saw the move. All three heads on the Brutal Pokémon were pulsating bright orange and they looked to the sky, opened their mouths, and each shot out an orange sphere-like object. High in the sky, all three of them exploded, sending what looked like comets down towards the ground.

"Rampardos, dodge!" Niko shouted. The Head Butt Pokémon, now looking up in a panic, tried to weave around them. However, he was not nearly as agile as some of his teammates, and ended up getting pelted by several of them before collapsing onto the ground. "Rampardos!" Niko cried out, now worried again.

"Rampardos is unable to battle, Hydreigon is the winner! Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"

Niko returned Rampardos and looked up at the scoreboard. He had three Pokémon left now to Elliot's two. He had two of his strongest Pokémon, and so did Elliot, since Niko knew what his sixth one was going to be. Taking a deep breathe, Niko whipped out a pokéball and threw it.

"Glalie, you're up!" He shouted. He also briefly noted to himself the Elliot's Hydreigon looked exhausted after the draco meteor—almost as if it were one of the first times it had successfully used the move. "Use ice beam!"

The Face Pokémon quickly leapt into action, conjured a steady stream of ice towards his opponent, striking Hydreigon directly in the chest. The Brutal Pokémon, angered by this, opened both of its side-heads and unleashed a black nexus of energy towards Glalie.

"Protect!" Niko commanded, and Glalie responded with a protective shield. "Ice beam again!"

"You're going to have to do better than that, Niko!" Elliot shouted. "Hydreigon, dark pulse again!"

Both attacks met in the middle of the field, creating a stalemate. Frustrated, Elliot then commanded Hydreigon to use dragon rush, to which Niko and Glalie replied with double team, causing the attack to miss.

"Ice beam!" Niko called out. After watching Hydreigon crash into the ground after striking a duplicate Glalie, the latter hit the former in the side with a stream of ice, nearly freezing its side. "We can do this, Glalie! Use crunch!"

Glalie opened his maw and dashed towards Hydreigon, mouth wide open. Then, as he was close enough, Hydreigon's left arm shot up and unleashed a dark pulse into Glalie's mouth, creating an explosion and launching the Face Pokémon high into the air.

"Draco meteor!" Elliot commanded. Once more, Hydreigon's heads began to glow bright orange as spheres appeared inside their mouths. They proceeded to launch them high into the air, just as Glalie regained his composure.

"Protect!" Niko shouted, realizing that double team wouldn't have been good enough to dodge a move like this. Glalie obliged, but with difficulty. The comets raining down from the sky were exhausting on the protective shield the Face Pokémon had conjured. But, Niko remembered how tired Hydreigon was the first time it used draco meteor. "Now, Glalie! Ice beam!"

Glalie nodded, quickly descending towards Hydreigon before unleashing a close-range ice beam, freezing one of Hydreigon's arm-heads.

"Now, crunch!" Niko shouted. Glalie clamped down on the frozen head and, despite taking a dark pulse to the face from the other head, managed to lift and throw Hydreigon in a circular motion onto the ground. "Finish it off with ice beam!"

"Hydreigon is unable to battle, Glalie is the winner!" The referee declared. "Elliot will now use his final Pokémon!"

"Oh…my…god…" Warren said, suddenly excited. "Niko has the advantage!"

"But…that Scizor…" Charlotte said. "I'm worried about it."

"Niko has Feraligatr _and_ Venusaur!" Warren said.

"But neither have an advantage…" Charlotte commented.

"It doesn't necessarily matter for that Scizor." Niko's mother interjected. "Elliot's Scizor is quite powerful."

"Hydreigon, return." Elliot said. "Well done, Niko. I didn't expect to be put into a corner like this." He looked down at his wrist, where a thin black bracelet sat around his wrist. A small orb was sitting in the middle of it. "But I am, and I hope you're ready. If not, looks like I'll be going to the finals. Scizor, I choose you!"

Out of his sixth pokéball came the tall, red steel-coated Pincer Pokémon that Niko had seen on several occasions prior. This time, Scizor wore something around its neck—a small necklace-like object with a tiny orb in the center. Something was different about this Scizor.

"Glalie, this is a very powerful Pokémon. Can you keep going?" Niko asked, knowing fully well that Glalie would have a lot of difficulty with Scizor. However, the Face Pokémon nodded. "Very well. Ice beam!"

"Please, Niko. Scizor, steel wing!" Elliot commanded. The Pincer Pokémon's wings began to glow bright gray as it dashed across the field, faster than Niko had remembered. Scizor then struck Glalie directly in the face, knocking it to the ground. "Iron head!"

"Ice beam!" Niko shouted. Glalie managed to hit Scizor with the ice beam, but it hardly seemed to faze the Pincer Pokémon, whose head was glowing a bright gray color. Scizor smacked Glalie back down into the ground. The Face Pokémon, damaged from the force of the steel type move, was unable to budge at this point.

"Glalie is unable to battle, Scizor is the winner! Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!" The referee declared.

"Glalie, return." Niko said, lamenting his choice to use the Face Pokémon in this particular battle. "Feraligatr, you're up!" Now that Scizor was closer, Niko got a better look at the thing around its neck. It was small, to be sure, maybe no bigger than a large marble. But it was pale blue with a red, teal, and black curved stripe running through the center. _What the hell is that?_ He thought to himself. "Feraligatr, be careful! Use hydro pump!"

"Scizor, steel wing!" Elliot commanded. Scizor shot forward, quickly closing the distance between it and the Big Jaw Pokémon. However, Feraligatr managed to strike it with hydro pump, disrupting the attack and causing Scizor to crash-land into the ground nearby.

"Whirlpool!" Niko shouted, watching as Feraligatr raised his arms to conjure a vortex of spinning water. As he threw it down on Scizor, the Pincer Pokémon quickly got back up and struck Feraligatr, forcing the whirlpool to crash down on both of them and fling them in opposite directions on the field.

"Scizor, how are you?" Elliot asked. The Pincer Pokémon turned to its trainer and nodded. "Alright, be vigilant—this Feraligatr is stronger than we remember. We might have to use our last resort sooner than we thought. Use iron head!"

"Feraligatr, hydro pump!" Niko shouted. _Last resort? Like…the move…? Or is Elliot talking about that thing on his wrist? What_ is _it!?_ He thought to himself.

Feraligatr managed to knock Scizor backwards with the jet of high pressured water, once again disrupting the attack. Scizor was launched backwards, rolling and crashing into rocks before coming to a stop.

"Well done, Feraligatr!" Niko said, although he couldn't help but be worried—Elliot seemed oddly calm now, despite his ace Pokémon taking a powerful hit to the face. Feraligatr seemed to share these sentiments, as he wasn't quite as proud as he might normally be.

"Scizor…are you ready?" Elliot asked as his Pokémon got back to its feet. The Pincer Pokémon turned to him and nodded. "Alright then. We're backed into a corner, this is our last resort. Scizor, MEGA EVOLVE!"

The bracelet clamped around Elliot's wrist began to react to the marble-like object on Scizor's neck. Both began to glow, and Scizor was enveloped in a sphere of powerful-looking energy that, moments later, burst open to reveal a different-looking Pokémon.

It was still Scizor, to be sure. However, its pincers lengthened and developed serrations. The lower half of its claws turned white and gained three pointed spikes on the underside. Its eyespots were blue with a thin black rim. Additional pieces of black armoring appear on various areas of its body: a three-pointed crest on its forehead and striated coverings on its shoulders and thighs. Its legs were less detailed after this transformation, and resembled larger, tapered spikes with white tips.

"What the—" Warren said as he spit out his soda. "WHAT IS THAT!?"

"Mega evolution…?" Charlotte wondered to herself. "I had no idea that was a thing…huh."

 _What the hell is this?_ Niko wondered. _Is it permanent? How did Elliot do that? How much stronger is Scizor now?_ Suddenly, he began to worry. But he didn't want to let Feraligatr see his fear, and put on a brave face. "Let's go, Feraligatr! Whirlpool!"

"Scizor, x-scissor!" Elliot commanded. Before anyone knew it, Scizor was upon Niko and Feraligatr, slashing at the Big Jaw Pokémon just as he conjured the vortex of water. Feraligatr fell backwards, landing on his tail. "Iron head!"

"Hydro pump!" Niko shouted. Luckily, Feraligatr managed to knock Mega Scizor away with the jet of water, but just barely—his opponent was far faster than he expected. "Now whirlpool!"

Feraligatr got up and conjured another swirling vortex of water. Just as he launched it, he noticed Mega Scizor dodge the move and shoot around in a curved motion to strike at Feraligatr, knocking him aside with steel wing.

"Iron head!" Elliot commanded. Mega Scizor headbutted Feraligatr in the side of the head, causing the Big Jaw Pokémon to stumble. Mega Scizor then went in for a steel-wing, to which Feraligatr retaliated with a crunch, grabbing onto the wing and spinning Mega Scizor around before launching it towards it's trainer. "X-scissor again!" Elliot called out. Mega Scizor then burst towards the ground to collide with Feraligatr, slashing at him with its two elongated pincers.

Feraligatr stumbled backwards, eventually falling over a rock and onto his tail. Niko cried out for him to use hydro pump, but it was too late—Mega Scizor was quickly upon him with iron head, which eventually knocked the Big Jaw Pokémon out.

"Feraligatr is unable to battle, Mega Scizor is the winner!" The referee announced. "Niko will now use his final Pokémon!"

"Niko's…Niko's screwed…" Warren said, eyes wide open. "That Scizor is incredible."

"His Venusaur isn't at a disadvantage, though." Charlotte added.

"But it isn't at an advantage, either." Warren replied, sighing heavily. "C'mon, Niko…"

"Feraligatr, return. You did fantastic. Against odds that we hadn't ever seen before, you got close to winning. I'm very proud of you." Niko then pulled out his last pokéball, containing Venusaur. "It's all on you, buddy! Venusaur, I choose you!"

"Just like last time, Niko." Elliot said. "Three years ago. Scizor and Venusaur."

"The outcome will be different, though." Niko said with a smirk. "Venusaur, razor leaf!"

"Scizor, steel wing!" Elliot commanded. The Pincer Pokémon charged at Venusaur, wings wide open and glowing bright gray, as it carefully maneuvered through a field of razor-leaf leaves before slashing at Venusaur, who quietly grunted from the attack. "Now, x-scissor!"

"Stun spore!" Niko shouted, just as Mega Scizor landed its attack, it got hit with the yellow spores emitting from Venusaur's flower. Mega Scizor stumbled backwards from the shock of the attack, now collapsing backwards to Venusaur's left. "Prepare for solarbeam!" He shouted.

Unexpectedly, Mega Scizor got back up and struck Venusaur in the side with x-scissor, causing Venusaur to wince again. Nevertheless, he fired off the solarbeam that somehow managed to hit Mega Scizor, who was now just to the left of the Seed Pokémon. Scizor was knocked backwards, but quickly gathered itself again.

"Venusaur, we're going to need to give more power to these attacks…" Niko said. "As you can tell, this isn't the same Scizor we fought last time." The Seed Pokémon nodded in response. "Now, razor leaf!"

"Block it with x-scissor!" Elliot commanded. Mega Scizor clasped its pincers together in an x-shape to block the torrent of leaves, but they were shooting out of Venusaur at a fast enough rate that Mega Scizor had difficulty dealing with it. "Iron head!"

"Stun spore!" Niko shouted. Another cloud of yellow dust puffed out of Venusaur's flower and reacted with Mega Scizor, paralyzing it just as the Pincer Pokémon slammed its head into Venusaur's, causing the Seed Pokémon to roar loudly. "Fight through the pain, buddy! Solarbeam!"

Venusaur's flower began to glow as he gathered solar energy from the now setting sun. Mega Scizor slowly began to move just as Venusaur unleashed the attack, directly hitting his opponent in the chest and dragging it backwards across the rocky terrain, where it fell to the ground just in front of Mega Scizor.

"Now this is it! Venusaur, frenzy plant!" Niko shouted, sensing the end of the battle, either in his or Elliot's favor.

"Scizor, use x-scissor!" Elliot commanded.

Venusaur roared to the heavens as powerful spiked roots erupted out of the ground, progressively getting closer to Mega Scizor, who attempted to slash at each of them with x-scissor, just as Golurk had attempted in a previous match. However, the roots were not easily cut, and soon Mega Scizor found himself overwhelmed by them, quickly succumbing to the powerful slaps and hits from the various roots. One of them hit Mega Scizor in the back, knocking it forward as Venusaur used razor leaf to hit it backwards again, creating a ping-pong effect.

The roots went away, leaving only Venusaur and Mega Scizor on the field. Both exhausted, and both ready to collapse. The entire stadium was dead silent until Scizor began to glow, reverted to its prior form, and collapsed face-forward onto the ground.

"Scizor is unable to battle, Venusaur is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Niko, not quite believing it, simply blinked in confusion. "There's no way…" He said softly. "Wh—what?"

"OHMYGOD OHMYGOD!" Warren shouted, placing his hands against the sides of his head. "HE DID IT!" Charlotte, equally shocked, placed a hand up to her mouth, overcome with emotion as well. Niko's mother quickly shed tears.

Off in a far land, Fay sat at his desk, looking at one of his computer monitors and smiled.

"Venusaur…" Niko said, crouching down in front of his first Pokémon, who had just collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. "Against all odds, we won. You and I. You, me, and all of our friends. Now, we're going to the finals in a Pokémon League because of you." He patted Venusaur's head, which was bruised from Mega Scizor using iron head. "Well done."

Venusaur smirked slightly before closing his eyes and fainting as well.

"And there ya have it, folks!" Colton Goodshow announced to the stadium. "We now have our final two trainers—Harmony from Black City, and Niko from Pallet Town! They will begin their battle tomorrow afternoon, same time as today. Have a great evening!" He said before cutting his mic.

* * *

Like when he defeated Hunter and Dan, Niko was greeted by his friends with tight hugs and congratulations. His mother, in tears, looked up at her son with a different kind of expression.

"Your father would be so proud of you right now." She said. "You and your Venusaur."

"I hope so." Niko said before turning to his friends. "One more battle, it looks like."

"And it's against Harmony. Think you can win?" Warren asked.

"I hope so. I've only seen a few of her Pokémon, but I've got an idea." Niko said.

Later that evening, he saw Elliot sitting out near the fountains with his Scizor. They were polishing the latter's steel coat. Niko was alone—he had just finished having dinner with his friends and mom. As he approached, Elliot briefly looked up at him, nodded, and continued polishing.

"Hey, Elliot." Niko said.

"Hi Niko."

"That…was a good battle." Niko then looked at Scizor, who was just an inch or so shorter than he was. "You've gotten much stronger." Scizor nodded in acknowledgement.

"He has, but not enough. We still have a long way to go, it seems."

"But it was a close match, don't be discouraged by that."

"I'm not, Niko. Did I ever give you the idea that I was?"

"No, but—"

"Then don't assume." Elliot said abruptly. "Fay would be very proud of you. JJ, too."

"I hope so. I didn't exactly leave on good terms."

"But like everyone else, they'll forgive you." Elliot commented. The two were silent for a moment. "Good luck tomorrow. Harmony looks tough."

"Yeah, she does." Niko said. "But thanks. I appreciate it."

"Anytime, rival." Elliot said with a slight smirk this time. "You're a good guy, Niko. Sorry if I ever gave you grief in the past."

"I didn't take any of it too personally." Niko said. "At least, looking back on it. But thanks…I needed a rival to keep me going. You definitely helped to fit that role."

"Me and Hunter, it seems."

"Oh, yeah…Hunter."

"What an odd man." Elliot said plainly.

"That's for sure." Niko said, looking up at the dark sky above Vertress City. "Have you ever made it to the finals before?"

"Yeah, in Sinnoh a couple years back. If I remember correctly, you might have been in Hoenn at that time."

"I was." Niko said, reflecting on his past. "What's it like? The finals?"

"It's tough. It was the toughest match I ever competed in. I lost, though, to some trainer from Veilstone City. He had a Torterra that was tough as hell to beat. Also knew frenzy plant, like your Venusaur."

"Guess grass type starters are your weakness." Niko said with a chuckle.

"Guess so." Elliot said. "But I think if you could handle Hunter and I—both admittedly strong trainers—you'll do fine against Harmony. But, as a word of caution, I've never seen her use all six Pokémon. You have to be careful about that sixth one, whatever it is."

"I will. Thanks for the advice, Elliot." Niko said. "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"See ya. And good luck." Elliot said. Scizor uttered a sound as well, indicating that he was communicating the same message. Niko turned, nodded, and then walked back towards the main stadium where he was to meet with his friends and Pokémon.

On the way, Niko saw Harmony sitting on a bench. Her hands were clasped together, and she was sitting straight up. That's when Niko got a clearer picture of her. She had dark hair that curled at the bottom. Her eyes looked to be hazel, and she had a slightly rounded face. She wore a dark green cardigan over a black shirt. Lastly, she wore a black skirt that ended just below her knees.

"You can just say 'hi.'" She said in a melodic voice.

"What?" Niko asked.

"You're just staring at me." Harmony said with an eyebrow raised. "Come, sit here."

"Okay…" Niko said, walking over to sit next to his eventual opponent.

"So…how are you feeling?" Harmony asked, looking down at him.

"I feel fine. You?"

"I'm happy." Harmony then looked out towards the front lawn of the stadium. "I've been watching your battles. I'll say this—I'm impressed."

"You are?" Niko asked with wonderment.

"Of course. You have a strong bond with your Pokémon. You should feel proud."

"I'm proud of them every day…" Niko said happily. "They're the reason I do this."

"I can see that. The bond between a trainer and Pokémon is a unique one."

"Like you and your Infernape?" Niko asked.

"Well…yes. I'm quite close with my Infernape. But it was not my first Pokémon."

"What was? I-if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, it's fine. My first Pokémon was a Slakoth, actually. I'm originally from the Hoenn region. I got a Chimchar when I visited Sinnoh to visit family. This was all before I challenged gyms in Unova…and other regions."

"Hoenn and Sinnoh are nice places…" Niko said.

"Oh? You've been there too?"

"Yeah. This is my fifth Pokémon League, actually. And…my first time past the quarterfinals."

"Oh, don't worry about that. We all improve at our own paces, and learn things at different times. It's only the natural order of things, Niko." She smiled warmly. "Five though? That's certainly impressive. It explains why you consistently seem to use different Pokémon in your matches."

"Yeah, I've got quite a few of them." Niko said, laughing.

"I admire that. Shows a willingness to expand your skillset with different types of Pokémon—whether they're elemental types, or different battling styles, it helps a trainer learn."

"I actually never owned a dragon type until this year. My Druddigon is my first."

"And it should feel proud just by that alone." Harmony said. "I never caught a steel type until my recent journey to the Kalos region."

"What Pokémon is it?" Niko wondered, having never heard of the Kalos region before this.

"You'll see tomorrow." Harmony said with a smirk. "I'm excited about our match tomorrow. You seem like a powerful opponent."

"I feel the same way." Niko said.

"Then it will be one for the books." Harmony said, holding a hand out. Niko locked eyes with his opponent, who was only a few inches shorter than him, and shook her hand. It was soft and light, just like her personality. "Good evening, Niko. I hope you sleep well."

"You…you too." Niko said, watching as Harmony walked back through the entrance to the stadium and disappeared, leaving Niko alone to ponder his upcoming match.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Fun fact-this is the longest episode of the series now, at 6,500+ words (6,200 without the Author's note).**

 **I also said that today would be the end of the season. As you now know, that's a lie. I planned to have a couple more done today, but life got in the way. I'm about halfway through the finals episode now, and then one will be after that to wrap the season up. So expect the season to finish tomorrow, instead of today as was originally planned.**

 **I also hope you enjoyed this particular episode. See you in the next one-Niko vs. Harmony**


	54. The eye of the Tornado

**Episode 54: The eye of the Tornado**

Niko looked down at the tunnel. It was mid-afternoon, and his match was in minutes. He stood at the entrance to the tunnel that would take him to the stadium with Charlotte, Warren, Sydney, and his mother.

"How're you feeling?" Warren asked.

"Fine." Niko said. He was nervous, to be sure, but he didn't feel pressured anymore. If he won, then he won. If he lost, then at least he made it to the finals. He's never made it this far before, and he never thought he would actually make it this far. Niko liked to talk about it, especially to fire up his Pokémon in a tight pinch, but he never imagines getting this far, particularly during _this_ particular tournament.

"Are you?" Charlotte asked, walking up to Niko. "You seem calm, oddly enough."

"That's because I am." Niko said, looking down at her and smiling. "It's just not something I know how to deal with yet."

"Well…" Charlotte said, leaning in to hug him. "I think you're going to do great."

"Thanks, Charlotte." Niko said, returning the hug.

"Come here." Warren said, hugging Niko as well. Soon enough everyone else did. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Niko said, just as he heard Colton Goodshow's voice through the microphone.

"We started with 128 trainers, and now we're down to only two! Welcome to the finals match for the Vertress City Pokémon League Tournament!" Colton Goodshow announced to the crowd. "And now, let's announce our two finalists!

"On one end, we have a trainer all the way from Kanto. He has competed in four other Pokémon Leagues, and had granted us some impressive matches in this tournament and in the past. Please, give a round of applause for Niko from Pallet Town!" The crowd roared as Niko entered the battlefield, which was a grassy field like his battle with Hunter. "And on the other end, a trainer equally unique. Hasn't even used her sixth Pokémon in any matches throughout this tournament. Hailing from Black City, here in Unova, please welcome Harmony!"

The crowd roared across the stadium as Harmony appeared on the end of the field opposite Niko. She smiled and lightly waved at him, to which he responded with a wave of his own. The referee, like always, explained the rules of the match before allowing the two finalists to begin their match.

"Archeops, I choose you!" Harmony said in her ordinary melodic tone.

"Luxray, let's go!" Niko shouted.

* * *

"So…" Niko said to his Pokémon. "We made it to the finals, thanks to these six." He said, turning to the team that managed to defeat Elliot. His Pokémon began to cheer and hoot in celebration. "We have one more match before we win the tournament. Who would like to step up?" He asked. Luxray was the first to step forward this time. It had been a while since Niko had seen his Gleam Eyes Pokémon. "Great, anyone else…?"

* * *

"Charge!" Niko shouted. Sparks flew along Luxray's black and teal fur, allowing him to store electricity for when he really needed it. "Now, wild charge!"

"Archeops, ancientpower!" Harmony commanded. The First Bird Pokémon—a pterodactyl-like Pokémon with yellow feathers covering its body and long, blue feathers covering its wings and tail—conjured rocks from the ground and launched them at Luxray, who managed to dodge all of them with wild charge before leaping into the air and tackling Archeops, bringing them both down into the grass. "Dragon claw!"

"Thunder fang!" Niko commanded. Luxray opened his mouth, electricity surging through it, as he bit down on Archeops' wing. The First Bird Pokémon tried to shake Luxray off, but was unsuccessful. As soon as Luxray got off, Archeops turned to its trainer with a defeated look on its face.

"Archeops, you can do this…" Harmony said softly. "Let's keep going. If you can't continue, that's alright." She said, looking up at Niko. Archeops nodded before flapping its wings and getting back into the air. "Alright! Use rock slide!"

"Luxray, discharge!" Niko shouted. Using the electricity he charged up earlier, Luxray unleashed a wave of sparks that hit anything on the field, primarily Archeops. The First Bird Pokémon fell back to the ground, slowly trying to get back up. "Wild charge!" Niko shouted. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon charged forward, slamming into his opponent and releasing electricity in the process. Archeops cried out from the electricity surging through it before falling backwards onto the grass, unable to move any further.

"Archeops is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner!" The referee declared. "Harmony will send out her next Pokémon!"

"Archeops, return. Well done. I'm proud of you." She said in her usual melodic tone. "Slaking, dear, let's go!" She said, throwing out a second pokéball from her bag that contained the Lazy Pokémon, a familiar one to Niko. "Use amnesia!"

Slaking looked lazily around, as if trying to understand where exactly it was. Meanwhile, Niko commanded Luxray to use charge once more before attacking with thunder fang. The entire time, Slaking didn't move an inch, instead preferring to watch Luxray bit down onto its furry body.

"Hammer arm, dear." Harmony said plainly. Slaking then slowly got up, as if burdened, and slammed down a fist onto Luxray's head, knocking it to the ground. Slaking then laid back down on its side and watched Luxray try to get back up from the powerful attack to his head.

"Luxray, are you alright?" Niko wondered. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon turned to him and nodded, albeit dizzily. "Alright, use discharge now!"

Luxray unleashed another wave of stored electricity, successfully hitting Slaking, who hardly seemed affected by the move. Slaking then got up again and, on Harmony's command, used hammer arm a second time, this time hitting Luxray in the side and launching it across the grassy field. Luxray crumbled onto the ground like a ragdoll just as Slaking laid back on the ground.

"Wild charge!" Niko shouted, realizing that this Slaking was going to be tough. He just had to find a way around it. Luxray got back up and, reluctantly, charged towards his opponent, who took the hit once more, but stood up and repeated its hammer arm, this time launching Luxray high into the air, which meant that the Gleam Eyes Pokémon crashed into the ground below, and hard enough from the force of the attack that he struggled to get back up, eventually falling in defeat.

"Luxray is unable to battle, Slaking is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will use his second Pokémon!"

"Druddigon, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Cave Pokémon. "Use dragon claw!"

Druddigon charged at his opponent wildly, ready to fight whatever came in front of him. He slashed as Slaking, who got up once more and laid down a hammer arm on its opponent. Druddigon, walking away dizzily from the attack, turned to look at Niko, who seemed unsure of how to proceed with this. He then turned back to Slaking, who was staring him down.

"Night slash!" Niko shouted, and Druddigon obliged, charging at his opponent and slashing at the Lazy Pokémon's stomach. As expected, Slaking got back up, and instead tried to use a move called chip away. Druddigon dodged the move and instead spun around Slaking to use dragon tail, hitting Slaking in the back and knocking it forward onto its face. "Great job! Now, dragon claw!"

Druddigon's claws burst into a light purple aura as he rose into the air and slashed downwards at Slaking's back. The Lazy Pokémon quickly spun onto its back and launch a punch at Druddigon, who took the hit and fell to the ground, but also got back to his feet fast enough to continue fighting.

"Dragon claw!" Niko shouted. Druddigon landed the attack on Slaking before getting knocked back by hammer arm. "C'mon, you got this buddy! Use dragon tail!" Druddigon slapped at Slaking's stomach, knocking the Lazy Pokémon back before it could get into its lazy, resting state. "Now, follow up with dragon claw!"

"Faint attack!" Harmony shouted, an odd tone of panic in her voice. Slaking briefly disappeared before reappearing and slamming into Druddigon from the side, inadvertently scratching itself on the Cave Pokémon's rough skin. Druddigon then slashed at his opponent with dragon tail, knocking Slaking to the ground. This time, Niko wasn't sure if Slaking was just being lazy or if it was truly unable to battle anymore. He didn't have to wait long to hear the truth.

"Slaking is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner!" The referee announced. "Harmony will now use her third Pokémon!"

"Slaking, return. Well done, Niko. I honestly didn't expect you to do as well against my Slaking. My apologies. Klefki, I choose you!"

"Klefki…?" Warren and Charlotte said aloud. The latter pulled out her pokédex to look, and found nothing. "What is that?"

"Druddigon, be careful…" Niko said, carefully eying his opponent. Klefki was a small, grayish-white Pokémon that resembled a key ring with four keys on it. It had a spherical head with a white face and a small, pink oval on its forehead. Two black circles and a keyhole formed its eyes and mouth. Below its head was its pink, teardrop-shaped body with a white marking in the middle. Extending from the top of its head is an appendage, which resembles an old-fashioned key with two wide, blunt teeth. A thin loop surrounds Klefki, and connects at either side of the "key".

"Klefki, play rough!" Harmony shouted. The Key Ring Pokémon charged at its opponent, slapping Druddigon across the face with each of its keys multiple times before knocking it over. Niko was stunned by this, curious as to why this small collection of keys was so powerful, and could defeat a dragon type so quickly.

"Druddigon, dragon claw!" Niko shouted. The Cave Pokémon charged at Klefki and slashed at it, but the Key Ring Pokémon didn't seem to move. "Huh…?"

Harmony laughed. "Ah, I see you don't know what a fairy type is…Klefki, use draining kiss!" She said.

"Fairy…type…?" Niko asked, just as Klefki rushed up to Druddigon and kissed it on the top of the head. Druddigon collapsed to the ground, his energy drained from his body. "Druddigon!"

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Klefki is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"

"Fairy type…okay then…what beats a fairy type?" Niko asked himself, muttering as he returned Druddigon. "Hm. Kadabra, let's give it a shot!" He shouted, summoning the Psi Pokémon. "It's been a while, buddy. Let's go with psycho cut!"

Kadabra moved his spoon in a slashing motion, launching blades of psychic energy across the field towards Klefki, who blocked them with a move called mirror shot. The Psi Pokémon then unleashed a psybeam towards the Key Ring Pokémon, who swiftly evaded it and rushed forward to use play rough (Niko later learned that this was a fairy-type move). Kadabra fled the attack with teleport and reappeared behind Klefki to use psybeam, which ultimately hit.

"Well done, Kadabra!" Niko shouted.

"Klefki, use mirror shot!" Harmony commanded. The fairy type Pokémon spun around and unleashed a flash of light that forced Kadabra to close his eyes. "Now, play rough!"

Klefki charged at Kadabra, swinging its keys wildly to more effectively land its attack. Meanwhile, Kadabra attempted to retaliate with psycho cut, using his spoon as his weapon of choice. After a few strikes at Klefki, Kadabra was able to escape and use psychic to throw the Key Ring Pokémon across the field.

"Kadabra, return." Niko eventually said, before Harmony and Klefki could retaliate. He noticed his opponent raise her eyebrow. Niko then remembered what Harmony told him the night before. _"I never caught a steel type until my recent journey to the Kalos region."_ "Steel type…Lampent, I choose you!" He shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing the Lamp Pokémon. "This is the finals, buddy! Let's show your parents in heaven what you're made of! Use inferno!"

"Klefki, mirror shot!" Harmony shouted. Klefki attempted to flash a blinding light towards Lampent and launch the light beam towards it, but the Lamp Pokémon tilted her head downwards and unleashed a powerful jet of blue fire, charring the grass in the space between and engulfing Klefki in it. Niko noticed Harmony's eyes widen, either indicating she was impressed or frightened. Either way, it didn't matter, since Klefki collapsed onto the ground with a light _clang_.

"Klefki is unable to battle, Lampent is the winner!" The referee declared. "Harmony will send out her fourth Pokémon!"

"Well done, Niko." Harmony said, smiling warmly at her opponent. "You know nothing about the fairy type, but it seemed like you remembered what I mentioned to you last evening." She pulled off a fourth pokéball, and tossed it out. "Cradily, let's go!"

"Lampent, think you can take this one on, too?" Niko asked. It then occurred to him that maybe Lampent could have handled Elliot's Scizor, even if briefly. The way she used the inferno to defeat Klefki was nothing short of impressive. Lampent turned to her trainer and gave him an expression that asked if he was stupid. "Alright, alright…let's keep going then. Lampent, use will-o-wisp!"

"Cradily, ancientpower, dear." Harmony said softly. The Barnacle Pokémon conjured old rocks from the ground and threw them at Lampent, who blocked them with the tiny will-o-wisps and then proceeded to use flame burst, which Cradily wasn't able to block this time. "Stone edge!"

"Lampent, move around the stone edge, just like you've practiced with Boldore, and use will-o-wisp!" Niko shouted. That morning he had some of his Pokémon practice battling others, just like he did during his journey. Lampent, fortuitously, ended up with Boldore. Just like in practice, she successfully dodged the moves and burned Cradily on the side of its slimy green body. "Hex!" Niko commanded.

Lampent successfully landed a hex on the Barnacle Pokémon, rocking it to the side slightly. Cradily shot its massive head to the side where Lampent was and spit out acid, temporarily blinding the Lamp Pokémon while she was pummeled with rocks from ancientpower. She collapsed onto the grass, only getting back up when Cradily struck her with stone edge, which forced her into the air.

"Lampent, flame burst!" Niko shouted. She whipped the acid from the glass over her eyes and spit out a light purple flame at Cradily, angering it in the process.

"Cradily, calm yourself." Harmony said to her clearly enraged Pokémon. "Use stone edge, please."

"Lampent, weave through it and use hex!" Niko shouted. His Pokémon quickly moved in and out of the pointed stones bursting from under the ground before spinning through the air and launching out a purple and black sphere at Cradily's burn, which caused the Barnacle Pokémon to roar out a second time.

"Cradily, stone edge!" Harmony commanded.

"Lampent, inferno!" Niko shouted, noticing both Pokémon wearing down a little. This particular match would end sooner rather than later, with either Cradily or Lampent fainting. Pointed stones jutted out from the ground in succession as Lampent unleashed a stream of blue fire at her opponent. Fortunately—and unfortunately—both attacks hit simultaneously, launching Lampent into the air and Cradily onto its back. Both collapsed onto the ground, both unable to move any further.

"Lampent and Cradily are unable to battle!" The referee declared.

"Return, Lampent. Well done." Niko said, looking up at Harmony as she also returned her Pokémon. "Torterra, let's go!" He shouted, unsure of what Harmony would use next, although he realized it as soon as he sent out his Torterra. _Oh...I'm screwed_. He thought to himself.

"Infernape, dear, let's go!" Harmony shouted proudly, summoning a familiar primate-like Pokémon to face off against Niko's Continent Pokémon. "Use flare blitz!"

"Torterra, earthquake!" Niko commanded.

"Leap into the air, Infernape!" Harmony shouted, even jumping a little herself. Infernape leapt into the air, much like Niko's Pokémon often do, and somersaulted before crashing down onto Torterra's head. The Continent Pokémon gave an audible grunt as he felt the impact of the attack. "Now, flamethrower!"

"Razor leaf!" Niko shouted. Torterra's tree shook violently as it summoned leaves at Infernape, all of which were quickly burnt up by the ensuing flamethrower. Niko grit his teeth—this wasn't going to be an easy win. He still had Kadabra and Venusaur, but Harmony had some unknown sixth Pokémon (which had become her "thing" during the Vertress Conference) that Niko knew nothing about. Torterra needed to do a significant amount of damage if he had any hope to winning this. "Earthquake!"

The Continent Pokémon once more shook the battlefield and, once more, Infernape leapt off and through the air. However, it got caught on the tail end of the second earthquake, and winced a little from the attack before waiting for Harmony's next attack.

"Close combat!" Harmony shouted. Infernape rushed once more at Torterra, running through the vortex of sharp leaves before kicking and punching the Continent Pokémon. "And…flamethrower!" She shouted, and Infernape leapt off of Torterra and spit out a jet of orange fire in the growing space between. Torterra, exhausted from the onslaught of fire attacks, angrily shook the earth once more, and caught Infernape on the landing a second time. Harmony smirked, and placed her finger up to her lip, as if thinking.

"Torterra, energy ball!" Niko shouted.

"Infernape, flare blitz." Harmony said softly. The Flame Pokémon lit itself on fire and charged at Torterra, essentially ignoring the energy ball and crashing into the Continent Pokémon. Torterra roared out as the flames burnt his front side. Eventually, he collapsed onto the ground.

"Torterra is unable to battle, Infernape is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will send out his next Pokémon!"

"Kadabra, I choose you!" Niko shouted, throwing out his psychic type.

"Hmm…Infernape, return." Harmony said pleasantly before looking up at Niko with a smile. "Fitting end to this battle, I think. I have put off using my sixth Pokémon in every match, and I developed this odd reputation for doing so. And for good reason, too. Niko, you've proven to me that you should get a chance to witness it. In the final round of the Vertress Conference, no less." She then held out a small purple pokéball. "This, Niko, is a Pokémon I am quite proud of owning. I hope you can deliver for me a battle worthy of its appearance.

"Tornadus, I choose you!" She shouted, throwing the purple pokéball into the air. Out of it erupted a green, muscular humanoid Pokémon that resembled a genie. On its forehead were two, purple, long and sharp horns. It had white, wavy, and billowy styled hair, a spiky white mustache and two pointed green ears on either side of its head. Its eyes were yellow with beady white irises and no visible pupils. The front of its body as covered in various, irregularly shaped purple spots. Its lower body consisted of a tailing cloud, with a purple long, curling tail, tipped with a whirl. Several whorled structures spanned the length of its tail.

"Tornadus!?" Charlotte shouted. "I—I read that in m-my book! It's a legendary Pokémon!" She shouted, whipping out her pokédex:

" _Tornadus, the Cyclone Pokémon. Flying type. In every direction it flies, creating winds so powerful, they blow everything away_."

"Oh man…Niko's in trouble, then." Warren muttered.

Niko, for his part, was awestruck by the Pokémon standing before him, floating up in the air. This is one of the last Pokémon he would have expected to see, having never known of its existence. He looked at Kadabra, who also looked slightly terrified. But they had to keep a straight face. They had to keep going.

"Kadabra, psycho cut!" Niko shouted.

"Dark pulse." Harmony commanded. Tornadus lifted his hand out and unleashed a dark nexus of energy at his opponent. Kadabra barely dodged the move before thrusting psychic blades through the air, to which Tornadus also evaded. "Now, hurricane!"

Tornadus whipped up a heavy wind around it and sent it directly at Kadabra, quickly picking him up and throwing him high into the air. Niko commanded the Psi Pokémon to use teleport to escape the fall from the attack. Kadabra successfully did so, but made the mistake of landing directly in front of Tornadus again. The Cyclone Pokémon conjured a dark pulse that hit Kadabra directly in the chest, launching the psychic type backwards.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, Tornadus is the winner! Niko will now send out his final Pokémon!"

 _Well, just Venusaur left against her Infernape and Tornadus._ Niko thought to himself. "Venusaur, it's just you and me, buddy!" Niko shouted, summoning his final Pokémon. "You ready for this?" Venusaur nodded, staring only at Tornadus. "Alright, use solarbeam!"

"Tornadus, hurricane!" Harmony commanded. Niko noticed a different tone in her voice—she was fired up now. As in, truly immersed into the battle. The Cyclone Pokémon whipped up a second hurricane, this time even picking up the far heavier Venusaur and throwing it high into the air before dropping the Seed Pokémon to the ground, just as the solarbeam launched out, hitting Tornadus unexpectedly. "Ah, well done! Tornadus, air slash!"

"Venusaur, razor leaf!" Niko shouted. The two attack impacted in the middle of the field, drawing to a stalemate. "Now, frenzy plant!" Niko commanded. "Give it everything you've got, Venusaur! Don't hold back!"

"Tornadus, dark pulse!" Harmony shouted. Tornadus unleashed dark pulses from both hands to block the spiky roots erupting out of the ground at him. Eventually, a couple roots hit Tornadus, knocking him from side-to-side but ultimately did little to harm the Cyclone Pokémon. "Hurricane!"

"Razor leaf!" Niko shouted, but was too late. Venusaur had already gotten picked up by the hurricane and thrown around a second time by the high-speed winds. Venusaur collapsed onto his side, struggling to get back up. He eventually righted himself, getting back on his four feet, but collapsed soon after. Tornadus was simply too powerful.

"Venusaur is unable to battle, Tornadus is the winner! And the victory goes to Harmony from Black City!"

"And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen!" Colton Goodshow announced. "The winner of the Vertress Conference is Harmony from Black City!"

Amid the cheers from the stadium, Niko walked over to Venusaur, and sat down in front of him, rubbing his face. "You still did great, buddy." He said with a smile. "Like I said, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Without you, and Feraligatr, and Prinplup, and Magneton, and Eelektross, and Lampent, and everyone else that participated. I'm just as proud of you today as I was when I first caught you, and when you evolved to defeat Sabrina, all those years ago. Every battle I've been proud of you, wins and losses. Next time, wherever we are, we'll win it. That's my promise to you."

Venusaur locked eyes with his trainer and faintly nodded, smirking a little before fainting. Niko then felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Harmony and Tornadus looking at him.

"Well done." She said calmly. Niko stood up to face his opponents. "That was an exceptional battle. I can see why this is your fifth Pokémon League. You showed it to be today."

"I can see why you don't use your sixth Pokémon very often." Niko replied, turning to Tornadus. "You have quite the trainer." Tornadus nodded proudly, folding his arms.

"This is what I caught him in." Harmony said, pulling out the purple pokéball. "I'm sure you've seen one of these before. It's a Master Ball. Catches any Pokémon, no exceptions."

"I see why you're proud of him, then. Must've been a hard catch."

"Oh certainly. And he isn't with me all the time. Sometimes he must be with his other friends—Thundurus and Landorus. They're known as the Forces of Nature. They also have a second form, but I am lacking in the item right now that makes it so."

"Either way, Harmony…thanks for the battle. I enjoyed it."

"Well, isn't that all that matters?" She said, closing her eyes and smiling. She then leaned over and pecked Niko on the cheek, forcing him to blush. "That's for trying."

Niko rubbed his cheek, embarrassed. "Uh…alright? Thanks. And congrats, by the way."

"Thanks. I'm quite proud of it." She said, still smiling.

* * *

Niko and Harmony waited on the field for the award ceremony, where she was given a golden trophy with a pokéball resting in the center. A small, detail-less figure with wings and two pointed horns on the top, made of silver. Below the trophy was her name and city engraved on it. Next to her, Niko stood as the runner-up. He received a smaller, silver trophy with only a pokéball sitting on it. Next to him was Venusaur, who enjoyed staring at the small trophy. He also couldn't help but eye the bigger, golden trophy as well.

"So…what's next for you?" Harmony asked as she waved to the audience. Fireworks were exploding high above them.

"I don't know yet. I'm probably headed back to Pallet Town, that's for sure." Niko said. "I have some unfinished business there."

"I see. Well, if you're ever back in Unova, let me know." Harmony said with a smile. "It'd be nice to have a friend around here."

"For sure." Niko said, also waving.

* * *

"Hey, Niko!" Warren said, waving his hand over to his friend. Charlotte and Sydney flanked him on both sides, with Niko's mother on Sydney's left. "Great job!"

"Thanks. I'm actually proud of myself." He replied.

"As you should be!" Sydney said. "You've improved!"

"And beyond my wildest imaginations."

"We're very proud of you." Charlotte added.

"And so is your brother and father." Niko's mother said.

"I hope so. Hey, Mom, I think I'll go back to Pallet Town with you." Niko finally said. "I have some people I should talk to. And some people I need to talk to."

"Oh, of course! I leave tomorrow. Will that be enough time for you?"

"Yeah, I think so." Niko said, turning to his friends. "Charlotte, Warren, want to go for a walk?"

"Sure, what about?" Warren asked as the trio began to walk out of the lobby and onto the grass fields that they had spent the past several days inhabiting. For Niko, it seemed like all important conversations happened here, on the front lawn of the Pokémon League.

"What's next for us? As a group?" Niko wondered.

"Well, you're going home, and so are we…you don't live in Unova anymore." Warren said, looking down at the ground.

"Okay…what's next for _you_?" Niko asked, prying further into his friend.

"Don't know. I think I'll visit you in Kanto over this coming summer. But that's it." He said. Both boys then turned to Charlotte.

"I'd like to join you when you visit Pallet Town." She replied quietly. "I've never been, and it'd be cool to see the place you grew up."

"I'd appreciate that from both of you." Niko said. "I just…have to go back immediately. I need to speak with my brother, and a couple of friends, and apologize."

"Fair enough. That's what you have to do, and we understand that." Warren said with a smile. He then stopped Niko. "And we'll always be here for you, regardless."

"Yeah, we will." Charlotte said, leaning in to grab both of them, bringing them into a hug.

* * *

The following morning, Niko and his mother were waiting at the airport. Warren, Charlotte, and Sydney were also there, waiting for a separate flight to Castelia City. The five of them made casual conversation before it was time to go. Niko's flight was first, in the early afternoon.

Standing up, he turned to his friends. "I can't thank you three enough for what you've done for me. Housed me, gotten me back on this journey, encouraged me to keep moving forward. I don't know how to repay you."

"Your success is our success." Warren said, leaning in to tightly embrace his friend. "Safe travels, Niko. I'll see you soon."

"Niko!" Sydney said, running up to hug her friend. "Thanks for making the Vertress Conference interesting to watch! You did so well!"

"Heh, thanks Sydney. I'm glad I could help." He then turned to Charlotte.

"Thanks…for everything." She muttered. "I've learned a lot by being with you. I hope we can do it again someday."

"You mean travel? Of course we can." He then hugged her this time. "I've learned a lot from you, too. Keep up the training. I think your Pokémon enjoy it." He said, winking at her as he let go from the hug.

"I'll keep that in mind." Charlotte said. Niko might have been imagining it, but he could have sworn he saw a spark light up in her eye. A spark of ambition.

"Niko, we have to go!" His mother called to him. "Bye everyone! See you soon!"

"Bye, guys!" Niko shouted as he ran off to catch up to his mother. His friends called and waved as well before disappearing behind a corner.

Niko was on his way back home.

* * *

 **Author's note: OOOH! Niko was the runner-up! And now he's going home after his long journey in Unova? How will some of his old friends and family react? What's next for him? Find out in the season finale!**


	55. Homecoming

**Episode 55: Homecoming**

Niko put down his bag on the ground of his second-floor room. Looking around, it felt like he had never left. Yet, it still felt foreign to him. He looked over on his desk to see his badge cases from the four previous years, plus his Battle Frontier case with the four prints that he won, with a fifth one missing in the middle. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his Unova badge case and placed it on the table next to Battle Frontier.

He took a deep breath and began to unpack with some of his smaller Pokémon around him. It was Lampent's and Reuniclus' first time in his room—and their first time in Kanto—that day, and they seemed to feel at home, too, oddly enough. The two of them helped Niko expedite his unpacking, and soon enough they were finished. Once they were done, Niko sat down on his bed and looked around.

"This feels more like home again." Niko said, remembering the last time he was in his room. "So much has changed." He looked at the Pokémon sitting in front of him. "You two have no idea."

Reuniclus made some gurgling sounds before flooding Niko with images, clearly from the past. He was reminded of a variety of events since Niko caught Reuniclus as a Solosis, including the first time they met. It felt good—cathartic, in fact. It also made him miss Charlotte and Warren. Earlier that day they were sitting in an airport, narrating their adventures to Sydney and Niko's mom. Now they were likely back in their homes in Castelia City, and he was here in the Kanto region.

"We'll see them soon." Niko said with a smirk, noticing that Reuniclus was reading his mind. This seemed to calm her, as it was clear that she missed her friends as well. "They said they'd visit."

Niko was about to lay down and take a nap when he heard a door shut downstairs. _Jake…_ Niko said, sitting back up. This is the entire reason for him to come back. He needed to confront his brother.

"Jake! Welcome home!" Niko heard his mom speak just as he was taking to the stairs. "How was the Silver Conference?"

"It was alright. I placed Top 8, so not too bad."

"Well, your brother did for some time, too. But he finally broke through the Top 8!"

"Oh, great…" Jake said, turning around to see his brother standing there. Peeping behind the walls were Lampent and Reuniclus, but hid themselves just as Jake turned to them. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm…back." Niko said, looking at his brother with a confused expression.

"Yeah, and you think that's going to make things better?" Jake said, walking past Niko, pushing him aside with his shoulder.

"Jake, please talk to your brother…" Their mother said.

"And why should I?" Jake raised his voice, spinning back around. "He _left_ us! Left us all behind, when you needed us! He was a coward, and I'm not going to tolerate that!" He shouted.

"Jake…I'm really sorry…" Niko said, sounding genuinely apologetic.

"Like hell you are." Jake said, thoroughly disappointed. "What? Did you practice that for the past year? You're sorry…?"

"I am, though. I was in a dark place, Jake. I—"

"Oh, you were in a dark place? OUR DAD DIED!"

"I know. It was a mistake, and I regret it. If I could go back in time and re-do it, then I would! But I can't, Jake! I can't! I've tried to find ways to redeem myself, and I don't think I know how to! Not for this! Not for any of it! But what has never changed, EVER, is that you're my brother, and I love you. I love Mom, and Dad, and my Pokémon, and my friends. I loved all the times we got to have adventures, as kids and in Hoenn. I loved all of the things we've gotten to do in life, and I'm so proud of you for becoming a trainer. Top 8! That's incredible! You should be proud of yourself, because I sure as hell am! And I always will be, regardless of the circumstances. Even if you up and front leave us for the same shitty reasons that I did, nothing will ever change how I feel about you!"

Jake was silent, looking away for a moment in apparent shame. He then walked away, completely silent. Niko turned to his mother, who shrugged, but smiled.

"I think you got through to him." She whispered.

"I sure hope so." Niko said. "I'm going to let the Pokémon out. Is there enough space for all of them?"

"Of course. Did you remember to get that Pokémon from Professor Juniper?"

"Yeah. She's right over there." Niko said, turning to Reuniclus. "You can come out now girls." He said, motioning towards himself. Reuniclus and Lampent floated over. "Let's go hang out with everyone for a bit, alright?"

Niko then walked out into the backyard and threw out nearly 30 pokéballs onto the ground, summoning all of his Pokémon.

"We're home, guys. Back in Pallet Town." Niko said with a smile, watching the sun set off towards the west, behind the mountains that led to the Johto region. "I certainly miss it." He turned to his Unova Pokémon. "You guys, this is my home. This is where Venusaur and I started off on our journey. And all of the Pokémon we've met along the way reside here now. So if I leave to another region in the future, I'll leave you here. This is your new home, if you want it to be."

Serperior looked around, looking positively satisfied with it. Braviary cawed out happily. Druddigon, Boldore, and Eelektross seemed to enjoy it as well. Niko then watched and played with the Pokémon until long after the sun set. It had been a long time since he had the chance to spend at least a summer with his Pokémon.

* * *

The following day, Niko walked through Pallet Town, showing some of his Unova Pokémon the area—his school, some of the places he, Fay, and JJ would visit. He took them to the store and got them some food to eat before getting on with his actual errands. There were two people in particular that he wanted to see. The first was just down the street from the store he was at.

"Hey guys, we're going to a small shop, so I need to keep you in your pokéballs. I promise it won't be too long." He said to his team, returning each of them, one by one. He then took a deep breath, and approached the store.

As soon as he did, he saw a Growlithe running around, chasing after a Bayleef. Both of them, oddly enough, noticed him, pausing in their tracks only a few feet away from them. In the back sat an Umbreon at the base of a desk with a cash register on it. An Azumarill was sitting in a chair behind the very person Niko wanted to see.

"Growlithe, Bayleef, what's—oh." JJ said, looking up at the shaven, but still long-haired, Niko. "It's you."

"Hey, JJ." Niko said, taking a step inside. "How—how are you?"

"I'm busy. What's up." JJ said, not bothering to ask a question.

"Just got back here yesterday, thought I'd stop by to see what you're up to."

"I've been working here part time. Why do you ask? Why do you care?"

"Because I'm your friend, and I want to make things right. I messed up, and I'm truly sorry. I understand that what I did was cowardly, and wasn't becoming of a good friend. So I get if you don't accept my forgiveness, but I just wanted to say it."

"…right. I get it. But why, Niko? Why did you decide to just up and front leave?" Niko took a deep breath, and began explaining to JJ what was going through his mind during that time—Lauren, his loss to Palmer, his dad—and why he left Pallet Town for Unova. JJ nodded at the end. "So, what happened then…? If you weren't a Pokémon trainer, then what did you do?"

"I was a dishwasher for several months, but I eventually got back into training." Niko said, explaining Warren, Charlotte, and Snivy, and then a shortened version of his explorations through Unova. I got all eight badges, and went to the Vertress Conference."

"I saw that, actually. Brittany called me, told me you were up against Hunter. At first I didn't want to believe it, and so I ignored it. But I tuned in at the end, and I saw your passion. Saw all of your Pokémon take down Toxicroak. It was…incredible. I stopped watching after that, though. I couldn't handle it." JJ then turned around to continue working.

"I made it to the finals." Niko said, himself trying to let it sink in.

"What the…?"

"I made it to the finals." Niko repeated himself.

"And…?"

"I lost. But by two Pokémon. It wasn't too close, but close enough." Niko said with a slight smirk. "I finally improved."

"My god. I noticed Elliot was participating. Was it against him?"

"No." Niko smiled wider. "I beat him."

"YOU BEAT ELLIOT?" JJ said, grabbing his curly blonde hair. "Niko! That's incredible!"

"I know. I'd like for you to meet my Pokémon, actually." Niko said, motioning JJ out of the shop and onto the empty street. He then threw out six pokéballs, containing all but Druddigon. Niko then introduced each in turn, since JJ wasn't familiar with Unova Pokémon.

"Wow…"

"Yeah. I have a seventh, too—Druddigon. He's a dragon type."

"A dragon type!?" JJ exclaimed. "You finally caught one."

"I did. I think I've caught most types now, actually. I know I don't own a dark type, or a fairy type…"

"Oh, I do, apparently. Professor Oak told me Togekiss is fairy type. So is Azumarill. They wreck dragons."

"Yeah, I learned that one the hard way…" Niko said with a laugh. "Anyways, this was my gang. I have some friends from Unova coming by in a couple of weeks, I'd like you to meet them too."

"I'd like that, Niko." JJ said, reaching out his hand. "I'm glad you're back. And…I'm sorry too. For how I acted just now."

"You have every right to be mad at me, JJ. I acted like a jerk."

"We both did. Say, what're you up to now? I can close down the shop and we could hang out?"

"I have another person to meet. Maybe later?" JJ nodded, and said his farewells to Niko, who proceeded on towards Professor Oak's lab.

"Niko!" Professor Samuel Oak said as he opened the front door to the lab, up on the top of the hill overlooking Pallet Town. "Well, it's been some time. How are you?"

"I'm fine, actually. Doing well." Niko said. "Just got back into town from Unova."

"Ah, yes! Your mother mentioned she was going to Vertress City. How did you do?"

"Top 2." Niko said with an expression of pride.

"Well done! Well done. I'm very proud of you, Niko. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I have a question for you about evolution. Do you have a moment?"

"Of course, come on in." Oak said, shutting the door behind Niko as he led the two of them to a lounge off to the left of the front room. They both sat down, and while Oak prepared something to drink, Niko took a look around. He had never visited this room in the lab before. On the walls were pictures of him with various people. Looking around, he noticed one of a young boy with spiky black hair and in a green striped shirt picking up a Pikachu. "That's Ash. He's an old friend of mine."

"Oh. I see. Sorry, just thought I'd look around."

"No worries! Ash was a peculiar trainer. He has a special bond with all kinds of Pokémon. And a very…unique way of battling. And he was always curious about the world of Pokémon around him. Much like you, but he was never down on himself…no offense."

"None taken." Niko said, putting the picture down and sitting in a chair opposite Oak.

"So…Pokémon evolution…"

"In the Vertress Conference, I encountered a friend of mine and his Scizor…"

"Ah, yes, Elliot…Fay's cousin."

"They're cousins?" Oak nodded. "Fay never mentioned that. Just that they were related." Oak pressed him to continue. "Right. Well, his Scizor…it _mega evolved_. Do you know anything about that?"

"Ah…mega evolution. It was discovered roughly a decade ago, but it's always been around. Some say Lucario was the first Pokémon capable of mega evolution, but others say Rayquaza. You might be familiar with the Draconid clan?"

"Oh…" Niko said, thinking back to his time at the Sky Pillar, when he encountered Rayquaza's altered form. "That wasn't mega evolution, though…it didn't have that…that…thing."

"You mean the mega stone. No. No it did not. Rayquaza is unique in that it doesn't require one. Every other Pokémon does." Oak cleared his throat and continued. "Mega evolution—and I'll be honest, I still don't know much about it—is a unique process that only certain Pokémon are capable of experiencing. It allows a trainer and Pokémon to utilize their strong bond together to access a higher power—that is, an enhanced form. It requires two things—a key stone, and the Pokémon's specific mega stone. What Elliot used was called a Scizorite. Your Venusaur, or your Aggron, for example, both are capable of mega evolution as well. As is Sceptile, Manectric, Pidgeot, and Glalie. Numel is, but only as a Camerupt. At least, that's all we're aware of today. There might be many more out there, but they haven't been found yet."

"Wow. Incredible."

"But, again, I know nothing about this stuff. Not nearly as much as Professor Augustine Sycamore in the Kalos region."

"The Kalos region? I've heard of that before." Niko said.

"That would be correct, I'm sure. If you've ever heard of fairy types, that's where they were first discovered."

"I have. Discovered them the hard way." Niko said with a light laugh.

"Hah! Well done, Niko." Professor Oak said. "But yes…that's it. If you want to learn more about it, I suggest making a trip to Kalos, actually. It's far away from here, but you might find it a lovely region to explore, too. They have a Pokémon League."

"Oh? Well then. Maybe I'll check it out." Niko said. "I'd have to ask my friends about that."

"Very well. Is that all?"

"I think so. Thanks, Professor."

"Anytime, Niko. Let me know if you need anything else."

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

Since his discussion with Professor Oak, Niko thought about mega evolution and the Kalos region. It was the perfect place to continue his journey to be a Pokémon master. If he had Pokémon capable of mega evolution, then he should try and figure out how to best utilize it to his advantage. And he was quite sure Venusaur and the others would love to understand it, as well.

He even told his Pokémon about it. He first told Venusaur, who listened carefully to it, eventually feeling quite excited about the prospects of evolving further. Niko then explained it to the rest of his Pokémon. Some weren't quite happy to learn that they might not be capable of it, but all seemed to be pleased that Venusaur was able to. It surprised Niko—all of his Pokémon seemed to revere Venusaur, in an elderly way. It was even odder when he considered that Venusaur was quite young compared to some of them.

"So…when Charlotte and Warren get here, I'd like to approach them about the Kalos region."

"What was that?" A familiar voice said. Niko spun around to see Charlotte and Warren standing there. Both of them ran up to Niko and hugged him.

"Oh man, it's been so long!" Niko said.

"It was only a couple of weeks." Charlotte said with a smile.

"But it felt like forever." Niko replied.

"Anyway, what's this about Kalos?" Warren asked as they all let go of one another. Niko then explained his conversation with Professor Oak, mega evolution, and the person named Augustine Sycamore. For a few moments, the two of them were silent. "Well…if you want to go there, I'm game."

"So am I." Charlotte said with a wide smile. Wider than usual, in fact.

"You guys sure?" Niko asked.

"We're sure!" Warren said excitedly. "You get to challenge gyms again! It'll be great! And you'll have another chance to win a Pokémon League in Kalos!"

"Yeah…you're right, actually." Niko said. "I think if we can master mega evolution, we definitely will." He said, throwing some of his long, brown hair back to fly in the calm summer breeze.

"And you will." Charlotte said, gripping his wrist. "We will."

Warren grabbed the other. "You betcha."

"C'mon, guys. There's someone I want you to meet." Niko said, taking them out of the house and towards JJ's shop. Once they got there, Niko greeted his curly blonde-haired friend with the same greeting he always did. "JJ!"

"Niko?" JJ's head popped out of the backroom. "Oh! Hey." He said, running out to greet his guests. "Hello, I'm JJ, owner of this here convenience store. And you two are…?"

"Charlotte."

"Warren."

"Please to meet you." Niko then explained his new friends to JJ, who listened with relative excitement. "I'm glad that you brought Niko back alive. He has a tendency to…"

"Get himself into trouble?" Charlotte asked. "Yeah, he does."

"You know him too well." JJ said with a smirk. "Anyways, what's up?"

"Well, we're thinking of leaving for the Kalos region in a month or so. Are you in?"

"Probably not, actually. I'm closing shop here soon and opening my own daycare business. I've been taking some classes in Viridian City, and I think I'm ready to take the next step. Those talks with the people back in Sinnoh really helped to get me thinking about it all."

"Wow! That's great, JJ!" Niko said. "I'm really happy for you!"

"Congrats!" Warren said, slapping JJ on the back the same way Niko did.

"Thanks. I'm really looking forward to it."

"So am I. I better come back to see business booming around here."

"Oh, you can bet on it." JJ said. "And I want to see you win a Pokémon League for once!" He said, clasping hands with Niko. "Pokémon Master."

"Breeding King." Niko replied.

* * *

 _A month and a half later_

Niko stood at the front door of his room to take long last look before leaving again. In hindsight, the two months he had spent in Pallet Town seemed to go by so fast, but in the moment it felt like eternity. During that time, Charlotte and Warren made trips back, once with Sydney. Brittany also stopped by, and it felt like old times with him, her, and JJ. Generally, though, Niko spent much of his time with his Pokémon, knowing that he would choose to start fresh once he got to Kalos. Although, he promised to Venusaur and some of the others, he would call on them once he understood mega evolution better.

Relations with Jake had gotten progressively better. Now that he knew more about Unova, Jake planned to make the trip there, planning to stay with Sydney for a bit to get a lay of the land before kicking off his journey throughout the region, just like his brother did the previous year. He had left the day before, leaving his own Pokémon behind just like Niko did, but for better-intended reasons.

Niko walked down the stairs to meet with his mother, who was outside feeding the Pokémon. He briefly joined in, feeding his Unova Pokémon. It was odd, going on a journey without them. The ones that gave him hope again. Gave him a reason to believe again. Leaving them, in a way, hurt him. And it was clear it hurt the Pokémon as well. But, they were likely assured by their new peers, Niko wouldn't abandon them. Niko himself made that promise, and made it clear.

"Alright, guys…" Niko said, standing in front of them. "The last time I did this, it didn't go so well…but I'm off. I'm going to Kalos with Charlotte and Warren. I want to challenge the gyms there, and learn about mega evolution. And, I hope, I'll make it to the Kalos League, and get a chance to battle with you all over again. I promise I'll call often to check in with you. And I want to hear that you're training as well. Not just playing around." He said jokingly, wagging a finger at them. They laughed in return. "Anyway, that's it. I wish I could say more other than…bye." He said, choking up a little when he looked at Serperior and Braviary in particular. The two Pokémon moved over to him and embraced him tightly ( _too_ tightly, in fact). The others gradually made their way over, and soon enough Niko was finished with his good-byes, and off to the airport with his mother.

"So…you're going to Unova first?"

"Yeah. Kalos is closer to Unova than it is to Kanto." Niko said. "I'm meeting Warren and Charlotte at the Castelia City airport, and then we're all flying together to Lumiose City in Kalos. That's where Professor Sycamore is based."

"Ah, right." His mother remembered. "Well, I wish you luck. Please call often."

"I will, Mom. I promise this time." Niko said as they approached the airport in Viridian City. He had made a lot of promises that summer, and when he got to Kalos, he intended on keeping each and every one of them.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well guys, that's it-Unova is finished. This was a weird season for me to write-so many new changes, and on top of it I was behind on my writing schedule for much of it, because life got busier during this season. Either way, I think i'm proud of how it turned out, but understand that I might have been able to do better. The next season-Season 7, The Kalos League-will begin likely on December 1st. The episode might be out earlier than usual, but otherwise that's what I am planning on doing, so look out for that.**

 **Before I go into my usual stuff, i'd like to ask you-the viewers (and reviewers) a couple of questions. This is something I should have done with every season before this, and I am appalled that I just now thought of this, but here they go. You are by no means required to answer them, but I do appreciate the feedback:**

 **-What did you like about this season?**

 **-What did you not like about this season?**

 **-What could I have done better in this season (don't say that [insert character here] didn't get so-and-so Pokemon, or that I should ship two people. No. Those aren't acceptable answers, because I plan all of these things out ahead of time. I already know who gets who)?**

 **-What can I do better moving forward with the story (same rules apply here as they did in the previous question)?**

 **Again, you aren't required to answer these. It's just feedback that my dumb ass didn't think to ask in earlier seasons, when I might have been able to utilize it better.**

 **And now, as I usually do, i'd like to thank the people who reviewed, favorited, and followed Season 6. In no particular order:**

 **Light Flame Blast, Mega Espeon, RubyOmegaGroudon, Jolteon2404, Pokemaster3164, GeekyGamer314, Amazing Spectacular Spider Man, Athios, Citylover996, Eeveefan1290, Poosa-Ard, YellowFlashCannon, breath20k, BubblesOfTheNine, Meleenie, and mick12997.**

 **Thank you all for the support. As I always say, you guys are the reason I keep spending my time writing this. Thanks as always, and I'll see y'all in Season 7!**

 **-Evanibble**


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